Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday launched an investigation into GoFundMe to probe potential violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act in connection with the crowdfunding platform's decision to remove the multimillion-dollar drive to raise money for the Canadian truckers' anti-vaccine "Freedom Convoy."
"GoFundMe's response to an anti-mandate, pro-liberty movement should ring alarm bells to anyone using the donation platform and, more broadly, any American wanting to protect their constitutional rights," Paxton said in a press release. "Many Texans donated to this worthy cause. I am acting to protect Texas consumers so that they know where their hard-earned money is going, rather than allowing GoFundMe to divert money to another cause without the consent of Texas citizens. I will get to the bottom of this deceitful action."
Paxton's opening action was to issue Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to GoFundMe, informing the Sacramento, California-based tech company that it is investigating the company's past and present actions.
GoFundMe came under fire last week after it took down the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraising collection account, saying it violated its terms of service. At first, it said donors would have two weeks to request a refund and that any remaining funds were distributed to "credible and established charities."
After outcry arose from several Republicans the company said it would refund all donors' money instead.
The page had raised about $10 million before it stopped the convoy's campaign.
The convoy's organizers have since shifted the fundraising efforts to another platform, GiveSendGo, where millions of dollars have poured in.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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