Charges pending for fake fundraiser linked to teen’s death

A man is facing charges after someone set up an online fundraiser to supposedly help the family of a teen killed in a St. Vital crash but kept the money for himself.

Passenger David Bunguke died after a car crashed into a utility pole at St. Mary’s Road and Guay Avenue on the night of Oct. 18, 2022. The driver was charged.

An online fundraiser was set up on GoFundMe shortly after the collision, ostensibly to help Bunguke’s family with funeral costs.

Investigators later learned a suspect, pretending to raise funds for Bunguke’s funeral, linked his personal bank account to the fundraiser to receive the donated funds, Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said Thursday.

“There are a lot of people taking the opportunities to take advantage of people in terrible situations or moments of grief,” Chancy said.

About 240 people donated funds over about a week. In a news release, police said the organizer diverted about $11,600 into his own account between late October and early November and later used the money “for personal gain.”

The family did not receive any of the funds. Some donors have been reimbursed after making claim submissions to GoFundMe, police said.

“The worst part of all these situations is that the people that it’s intended for, in this case a grieving family, may not see any money at all. They may be almost re-victimized,” Chancy said.

The WPS financial crimes unit began investigating and arrested a man when he turned himself in to police on Feb. 25 of this year.

A 20-year-old Winnipeg man faces charges of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and laundering proceeds of crime. He was released on an undertaking.

“The suspect and victims were not previously known to one another,” the WPS said.

David’s father, John Bunguke, told the Free Press in early November 2022 that he had filed a report with police regarding the scam.

The family initially thought someone was organizing the fundraiser on their behalf. John Bunguke said he became suspicious after he messaged the organizer through GoFundMe and did not get a response.

“It is very bad in society to have something like this, and someone take advantage of this. This cannot happen to another family like us,” he told the Free Press.

Chancy urged people to remain vigilant when making donations online and report any suspicious activity to police.

David Bunguke was a high school graduate and talented soccer player who represented Manitoba at the Canada Summer Games. A link to the fraudulent fundraiser was shared by at least one local soccer club.

“Of all the different kinds of fraud I encounter, there is something that’s particularly exploitative in a situation where you’re dealing with a tragedy,” said Vanessa Iafallo, founder of Anti-Fraud Intelligence Consulting in Halifax.

“I just find this kind of profiteering really vile.”

Iafallo, who works with victims of fraud, said people are particularly vulnerable while grieving.

Scammers can take advantage of tragedies that capture public attention and sympathy, and quickly make off with large sums of money. In such instances, it’s incumbent upon fundraising platforms to reimburse the affected donors, Iafallo said.

“It’s sort of the risk with these kinds of fundraising because there’s not much GoFundMe can do to verify necessarily who might be a friend of the aggrieved person. So, really, what everybody is relying on is human decency and good intentions,” Iafallo said.

“Unfortunately, as we know, there’s a segment of the population that’s really not interested in upholding either of those values.”

A statement on the GoFundMe website says the platform relies on its users to report suspicious campaigns and potential fraud. It investigates complaints and, if proven, offers reimbursements.

Some stipulations apply, including a one-year time limit on refund requests, the website says.

The Free Press has requested comment from GoFundMe.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca