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Man arrested for trying to swindle Dylan Thomas supporters with fake GoFundMe, police say

The sheriff's office was able to nab their suspect with help from an Iowa bank and GoFundMe itself.

Police in middle Georgia have arrested a man accused of making money off of a local tragedy.

Word of young Dylan Thomas's death spread around Georgia earlier this football season when he succumbed to injuries from a Friday night game.

It was the kind of tragedy that brings together a community to help. But the Pike County Sheriff's Office said that Justus Hughley took advantage of the kindness of strangers.

Credit: Pike County Sheriff's Office
Justus Hughley, 22

He allegedly set up a GoFundMe account accepting money on behalf of the Thomas family with no intention of giving them a dime.

Pike County officials said that after a lengthy investigation and several subpoenas, they were able to narrow down their search and name Hughley as the person behind the account - this even as he apparently tried to hide behind a bank in Iowa to cover his tracks.

From that bank, investigators said Hughley tried to transfer money into his own account. But he was stopped in his tracks when the transaction was flagged as fraudulent meaning he never received any of the ill-gotten funding.

A computer address along with banking information provided by GoFundMe and the bank itself helped investigators find their man in Upson County.

Now, Hughley is in Pike County jail as he awaits a bond hearing on a charge of computer theft.

GoFundMe issued the following statement: 

"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. Campaigns with misuse are very rare, making up less than one tenth of one percent of all GoFundMe campaigns.

In this case, the campaign received one donation, and the donor has been fully refunded. GoFundMe has banned the campaign organizer and we are cooperating with Law Enforcement."

Investigators have arrested Justus Hughley , 22 years of age, for the charge of Computer Theft after a report of a fraudulent go fund me account that was accepting money on behalf of the family of...

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