Fundraiser for family of teen killed in crash ends with fraud charges against Winnipeg man

ManitobaA 20-year-old man is facing fraud charges after police allege he set up a false online fundraiser under the guise of helping a family with funeral costs following the death of their son in a crash.Campaign raised about $11,600 in just over a weekCBC News · Posted: May 01, 2025 12:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 1David Bunguke died in a car crash in October 2022 and a stranger launched a fraudulent fundraiser claiming to be raising money for the family’s funeral expenses, police allege. (x.com/FTFCanada)A 20-year-old man is facing fraud charges after police allege he set up a false online fundraiser under the guise of helping a family with funeral costs following the death of their son in a crash.The fundraiser was launched a few days after David Bunguke, 17, was killed in October 2022, police said in a news release on Thursday.The campaign said the money raised would help the grieving family but it was linked to the personal bank account of the 20-year-old man, police said.In the space of one week, approximately 240 people donated, and by early November, the campaign had raised about $11,600, which went into the personal account. At the time, Bunguke’s father, John, told Radio-Canada he thought the GoFundMe was created by someone who wanted to collect donations for his family, but after contacting the organizer, he got no reply.David Bunguke was a passenger in a speeding car that hit a hydro pole on Oct. 18, 2022, at St. Mary’s Road and Guay Avenue in Winnipeg’s St. Vital area. (Bert Savard/CBC)The father said his family was outraged that someone profited from his son’s death in that way. He filed a complaint with the Winnipeg police and a family friend contacted GoFundMe for more information. The financial crimes unit identified a suspect, who turned himself in on Feb. 25.The 20-year-old man was not previously known to the Bunguke family, police said.Some donors have since received reimbursements through claim submissions made to the fundraising platform, police said.With files from Radio-Canada