GoFundMe is earmarking donations made to Stelianos Psaroudakis after questions have been raised about the authenticity of his claim that his neck was slahed by a trail trap.
37-year-old Stelianos Psaroudakis was admitted to hospital with a neck injury but complaints to GoFundMe have raised doubts about what actually happened. He had raised $851 of $8,000 when the page was taken down.
Rachel Hollis, GoFundMe spokesperson, released the following statement on Wednesday:“We can confirm that the organiser has removed the campaign and that we are looking into this. When a campaign receives complaints, as in this case, we place the funds on hold until additional information is provided by the campaign organiser. We’ve reached out to the campaign organiser for this additional information.
“It’s important to remember that our platform is backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee, which means that we guarantee the money goes to the right place. In the rare case that GoFundMe, law enforcement or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors are fully protected and will get their money back.”
The nature of the complaints has not been released. For more info, click here.
Stelianos claims he was riding with a group of friends along the West Bragg Creek trail at around 8pm last Wednesday when he was clotheslined by the trail trap that was strung between two trees. Psaroudakis was apparently flippped from his bike and landed on a large rock.
Supposedly, Stelianos was knocked unconscious and also suffered lacerations to his neck and liver and injuries to his lower back. His friend, who was riding 15 metres behind him, was certain he had died. Stellianos’ chihuahua, Kiwi, who was in his backpack, also suffered injuries.
The GoFundMe was set up to help pay for a new bike and some deer cameras to catch whoever was stringing up the wire.
Members of the Cochrane RCMP detachment have launched an investigation into the incident. Anyone with information regarding the intentional placement of hazards on trails or the location of Psaroudakis’ bike is asked to contact Cochrane RCMP, 403-932-2211, or anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers.
Head to CBC news for the full story, here.
