The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office and GoFundMe are investigating after a Lynnwood family said they never received the money from a GoFundMe account that was intended to help their sick child.
Laura and Tom Leingang say their son Lucas, who is only four months old, had open heart surgery at 6 weeks old. While they were in the middle of their three-month hospital stay an online friend, who they say they've been acquainted with for more than a decade, started a GoFundMe page to help with the family's medical expenses. That page got help from 57 donors and raised $2200. Now, two-and-a-half months since they first tried to obtain the funds, they are worried they may never see a penny.
"We ended up going through the fraud investigators at GoFundMe and come to find out we were never listed as the beneficiary on the account," said Laura Leingang.
Leingang said the organizer of the GoFundMe page listed a girlfriend as the beneficiary and they say that someone already withdrew all of the money earlier this year. They still have not received any of it. GoFundMe said they are investigating, but added that they will make sure the Leingang's receive the money as intended.
"To think that someone that we thought we knew could take advantage of this situation for their own benefit just makes me sick," said Laura Leingang.
"You always hear that, to steal candy from a baby. Well it's one thing to steal candy from a baby, it's another thing to steal candy from a sick baby," Tom Leingang said. "That's another level."
The Leingangs still encourage people to donate for different causes, but they want to caution others to make sure to figure out exactly who is receiving the funds.
