GoFundMe funds released to Tessica Brown after she was blocked from withdrawing the money
Tessica Brown was blocked from withdrawing funds because of claims she had a “fraudulent” account.
Tessica Brown’s plans to donate the money she initially raised to get medical assistance for her glue removal was temporarily halted.
The Louisiana woman was attempting to withdraw the money when she discovered her account was being investigated for fraudulent claims.“They won’t even release it to me because that many people have called and said it was a fraudulent account,” Brown said during a Zoom interview. “Every time you look at it, it says it’s under investigation.”
Brown created a GoFundMe after the Gorilla Glue she used to style her hair proved to be irremovable. She hoped to raise $1,500 for potential medical costs, but she exceeded her goals, earning over $23,000.
Unbeknowst to her at the time, she would be offered her a free procedure by Beverly Hills surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng, who successfully removed the adhesive while attempting to save some of her actual hair.
In an effort to thank the surgeon and pay it forward, she decided she would split the money between Obeng’s Restore Worldwide reconstructive surgery center and St. Bernard Parish in Lousiana. However, claims from fans who believed her Gorilla Glue experience was a hoax caused GoFundMe to block her withdrawal of the funds.
“I’m like, ‘We can donate to Dr. Obeng’ … and the rest of that, I’m going to donate it to three families in St. Bernard Parish,” Brown said in the interview. “That’s going to be pretty upsetting because who are y’all to say…this was a fraudulent account? For one, Dr. Obeng brought me from St. Bernard Parish to Hollywood, like I seen the sign to take this out of my head, like this man didn’t have to do none of this.”
Fortunately, after informing GoFundMe of her plans for the money, the funds were deposited into her account. “The organizer stated she would donate the funds to a charity and to families” in her town, a Gorilla Glue spokesperson told the New York Post. “The GoFundMe Trust & Safety team has released the funds and they should be on their way to Tessica.”