How to Hack GoFundMe

On Feb 7, 2023, a mother from Australia checked her 7-week-old baby into an ICU in Denpasar, Bali.

She then took to the media to cry for help.

Her cries were heard as Australian media gave the story headline news.

Honey Ahimsa (the name of her Instagram brand) aka Rachael King is the mother of two children.

You can read about her tumbleweed, unemployed, social media escapades in an Australian van and American bus, partying in Las Vegas, an attempt to buy a villa on GoFundMe donations in Tulum, Mexico, hotels in Tahiti, Thailand, Bali, and much more with her street painter boyfriend Pan on her Instagram @honeyahisma.

The making of a GoFundMe hack

After giving birth in a Thailand bathtub and hotel hopping, Rachel King dragged her seven-week-old baby Lucky Love through a lifestyle only known by desperate immigrants.

After King’s family, all became ill in Thailand the intrepid family landed in Bali to heal.

It wasn’t long until the baby was rushed to Siloam hospital in Denpasar, Bali during the early hours of the morning after she went into respiratory distress and was left gasping for air.

She was placed on a ventilator to help her breathe after a severe infection took a serious toll on her lungs.

Doctors allegedly told King and the apparent father, Pan aka Graham White that their baby girl may not survive and has a 50 percent chance to live.

The sick baby part was real.

Hack Tip #1

Exaggerate the cost of the medical expenses.

I called Shiloam Hospital and they said an ICU room excluding the doctor and medicine was about $400 per day. Natalie Saper, the organizer of the fundraiser stated the costs were $5,000 per day and then later said it was $8,000 per day.

No one saw the bill.

The baby spent a week in the hospital from Feb 7-13 (7 days) not (11 days as Saper states on the GoFundMe page. I asked Saper to provide evidence of her claim and she did not.

Hack Tip #2

Exaggerate the baby’s health status.

King claimed the doctor gave the baby a 50/50 chance to survive. There was no proof the doctors said anything of the kind. And as a general rule Indonesian doctors don’t say things like that.

Unless it’s something like cancer you’re not likely to hear you better organize your will.

As we learned the doctors didn't know what was wrong with the baby so making such a near-death prognosis was hard to believe.

The doctor didn’t know if the baby’s lung problem was bacterial or viral so to back King's claim that anti-biotics didn’t work doesn’t make sense if you don’t know the condition.

Short of evidence we can believe the Indonesian hospital did not have the right medical equipment or specialists to ensure baby Lucky Love had the best chance.

The following day King posted crying videos on social media and booked an AUD 109,000 Medevac flight from Australia to extract the baby ASAP.

Also on the following day a GoFundMe was set up to cover the medical expenses with a goal of AUD 220,00.

After the story went viral on Australian news King raised AUD 190,000 in two days.

As of 3/16/2023, King is still asking for money to cover the bills.

Hack Tip #3

After a week the Queensland medevac picked up the baby and all medical expenses was paid. Including, the hospital bill but who paid the bills?

I talked to recovery operators at Medical Rescue who said under certain circumstances they will write an IOU for payment arrangement.

Medical Rescue Queensland stated that they would neither confirm nor deny they rescued Lucky Love on credit.

In addition, the Australian Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs told Australian channel 7 news they were looking into sponsoring Lucky Love’s case.

If the GoFundMe money was used to pay for Luck Love’s medical expenses Saper or King will not show it.

I asked Natalie Saper to please explain and she did not answer.

Using GoFundMe for other purposes outside the fundraiser purpose is fraud.

Here, it would be double-dipping i.e. the bills were covered by other means and the beneficiary pocketed the money.

On their GoFundMe there was no mention the medical bills had been paid which would render the fundraiser void.

From the Lucky Love GoFundMe page

All money will go to supporting Lucky heal

-Your donation will go towards - Air ambulance flight (current quote to Brisbane Australia AUD 109,500) - Lucky's medical bills ($8,000 a day x 11 days)

- Accommodations for Lucky and her family

Update 3/17- Lucky arrived in Australia and received just over 2 weeks of care in top Children’s hospital, she has now at home where she will continue her healing journey. It has been very traumatic for Lucky and her family, every donation helped save her life. The family is extremely grateful.

Takeaways

1. The air ambulance flight bill is already paid
2. The Bali hospital bill is already paid
3. Healthcare in Australia is free

Hack Tip #4

Hide behind privacy

Unless a donator can provide solid evidence of fraud GoFundMe will email telling you how seriously they take fraud but nothing will be done.

GoFundMe suggests reporting it to local police.

The GoFundMe hackers that get stopped are by the authorities not GoFundMe.

Even though GoFundMe states fraud is rare a Google search on the topic says otherwise.

If fact, one person got so fed up with the corruption she launched the website GoFraudMe.com and took it upon herself to investigate fraudulent cases.

I used GoFundMe to raise $20,000 for personal expenses associated with my daughter’s liver transplant so the platform can help.

Lucky Love has been discharged from the Australian Children’s hospital and will be fine.

Health care is free in Australia so no need for more donations to cover them.

However, for unknown reasons, King’s GoFundMe remains LIVE.

I hope after recovery King has learned that parenting is a responsibility not suited for a life out of a backpack.

Accidents can happen to anyone but when you travel internationally without insurance and with children the parent is inviting disaster.

We likely will not know how the GoFundMe was used.

When you donate to a cause you can't control it comes with the inherent risk the money will not be used for what the organizer says.

Call to Action

If you donated to the Lucky Love GoFundMe you can request a refund for up to a year.

Disclaimer: I do not know King or White and I have no reason to discredit them.