Charges: Woman set up GoFundMe for grieving family, kept the donations

Updated: 6:50 p.m. | Posted: 4:36 p.m.

A Richfield woman is accused of stealing from a grieving family's GoFundMe account.

Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman charged 49-year-old Kimberly Freese with one count of felony theft on Thursday, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Prosecutors say Freese offered to set up a crowdfunding account for a man who suffered a death in the family in November.

The victim reported Freese, a family friend, said she would turn the "account" over to him when he was ready.

Freese set up the GoFundMe page, but chose to have more than $2,000 dispersed directly to her own bank account, according to court documents.

The campaign raised $2,645 from 34 individuals who made donations, believing they were going to the victim's family.

The Richfield Police Department began investigating the case in January, when authorities say Freese allegedly admitted she had received the funds, but no longer had them.

She allegedly claimed they went to a "court thing," but was planning to make an arrangement with the victim to pay him.

Prosecutors said Freese hadn't paid the victim back as of mid-March.

GoFundMe is working with law enforcement on the investigation, the crowdfunding site said in a statement, adding that misuse of their platform is rare.

"Additionally, it's important to remember that our platform is backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee, which means that in the rare case that GoFundMe, law enforcement or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors are fully protected and will get refunded," the statement said. "And if a campaign organizer does not deliver funds to the intended recipient, GoFundMe will donate the undelivered amount to the right person."