The Fort McMurray police are investigating possible fraud after a friends and members of a local family complained that the account set up for the wife and children of a recently deceased man was drained and the GoFundMe donations worth thousands of dollars were missing. 29 year old Roger Belanger was killed in an automobile crash on July 28^th, and friends and family members set up a GoFundMe account for his wife and children. Thousands of dollars in donations were made to the account. A significant amount of donations came from the Fort McMurray area, where Belanger was well known on social media. Rachel MacDonald, a close friend of Belanger and his family, filed a complaint about the missing donations with the Fort McMurray police.

Wood Buffalo RCMP spokesperson Cpl. George Cameron confirmed that a report was made but little else, stating “We received a complaint about possible fraud in relation to the GoFundMe (account).” It is still early in the investigation yet so Fort McMurray police are not releasing any further details about the missing GoFundMe donations right now. Roxanne Belanger, the sister of th deceased man, said that the family did not receive any of the money raised. This is in spite of the clear intent of the campaign, which Roxanne said “clearly stated on the website that the money was for (his wife and two children).” Roxanne Is warning others, and said “It’s quite easy for anyone to start a GoFundMe campaign for any individual or for any cause. The process in place to guard the people who deserve the money are not appropriate. And when we’re trying to make the situation right, it took a very long time.”