An online fundraiser bearing the name of alleged murder Karmelo Anthony has raised hundred of thousands of dollars since it was launched more than a week ago, but the 17-year-old’s family says there is a lot of misinformation circulating about how the money is being spent.
Anthony has been charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed and killed a fellow high school student at a recent track meet in Frisco, Texas. Following Anthony’s arrest, a fundraiser was set up through the online platform GiveSendGo. It had raised nearly $500,000 as of Friday.
A report on Tuesday claimed Anthony’s family has moved into a gated community in Frisco and purchased a new car. The family’s attorney said the move was necessary for safety reasons.
At a news conference on Thursday, Anthony’s mother Kala Hayes said any rumors about the family using funds from the GiveSendGo are “completely false.”
“Let me be clear: The claims that we used the public donation to buy a home or anything else are completely false,” an emotional Hayes told reporters. “We have not received a single dime from the GiveSendGo fundraiser and the co-founder has stated that clearly. The reality is we were just notified yesterday that we could begin to withdraw funds and it still takes several days to receive those funds once a request is made.”
MOTHER OF KARMELO ANTHONY: “We have not received a single dime from the GiveSendGo fundraiser…We were just notified yesterday that we could begin to withdraw funds…”
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 17, 2025
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Anthony was released from jail on Tuesday after a judge in Collin County, Texas, reduced his bond from $1 million to $250,000. In asking for the bond to not be reduced, Collin County Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye argued that the Anthony family has raised enough money from the GiveSendGo campaign.
As Hayes stated, GiveSendGo co-founder Jacob Wells told TMZ this week that no funds from the campaign have been distributed.
Several GoFundMe campaigns were also started on Anthony’s behalf, but those were deleted due to the platform’s terms of service. GoFundMe prohibits “fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes.” Any GoFundMe donations that were made were returned to the donors.
Many have argued that the GiveSendGo campaign should also be removed, but another one of the co-founder’s of the platform recently defended the decision to keep the fundraiser active.
Anthony is accused of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf after Metcalf reportedly confronted Anthony for standing under the wrong high school’s team tent at the track meet. Anthony’s father, Jeff Matcalf, interrupted the Anthony family’s press conference on Thursday before it got underway.
