Update, 9/28/2026, 1:50 p.m.: In a statement provided directly to the Observer, GoFundMe clarified that the couple’s daughter, Amy Johnson, verbally confirmed she had filmed the video of her father, and that the alias “Erin Howell” was fabricated. Per GoFundMe, the Johnson family maintains Josephine’s cancer diagnosis and Don’s contract manual labor work to continue affording treatment.
The original story is below.
Over the past week, a viral story about an 81-year-old man performing a manual labor contract job delivering lost luggage in The Colony to pay for his ailing wife’s cancer treatments garnered significant online attention. The story, which began circulating via a GoFundMe originally believed to have been set up by a concerned citizen, amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations. Over the weekend, all donations were reportedly refunded as GoFundMe discovered the page had actually been orchestrated by the couple’s daughter…