- Prosecutors accused a Minnesota man of faking a political attack on his home for insurance money.
- The man is listed as the beneficiary of two
GoFundMe online fundraising campaigns that were live until the day after it was reported he was being charged with fraud.
Online fundraisers raised more than $22,000 for a Minnesota man who said his house was set on fire by arsonists over his support of Donald
Dennis Molla had claimed that his property was vandalized by anti-Trump arsonists, but prosecutors allege he did the damage himself in an attempt to secure a $300,000 insurance payout and thousands more in donations.
In Molla's indictment, prosecutors said: "In reality, as Molla well knew, Molla started his own property on fire, Molla spray painted the graffiti on his own property, and there were no unknown males near his home."
Two GoFundMe campaigns matching the description of the vandalism and arson were live on the site until the day after it was reported Molla was being charged with fraud. One had nearly $18,000 in donations and the other had $4,400. Molla was listed as the beneficiary of both campaigns.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe told Insider the company removed the campaigns and banned the beneficiary from their site.
"While the overwhelming majority of people use our platform to help others, we are aware that bad actors exist and also why we take any misuse of our platform very seriously," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We are a platform that requires authenticity and transparency and if funds are not used for the intended purpose of a fundraiser, that is a violation of our terms of service."
Most of the donations are from over a year ago, when Molla first made his claims.
In an update from the family posted to one of the fundraisers, Molla's family said they were able to use some of the donations to buy a new truck.
"Thanks to you, last week we were finally able to buy a new work truck, which had lifted a huge burden off our shoulders," the family wrote.
In another update, the family said they saw support from "both sides of the political spectrum," with donations pouring in from hundreds of users.
One person gave $10, writing, "I don't have much as a Disabled Senior Citizen but the day we cant have Free Speech & Vote for who we want is the day America dies!"
Another donated $50, saying, "I am a proud Trump supporter and I will do anything to help my fellow patriots."
Molla was charged with wire fraud charges for his insurance claims and the fundraisers in his name.