GiveSendGo CFO Jacob Wells says he has no regrets about his crowdfunding company’s involvement with the Freedom Convoy.
In an exclusive interview with The Counter Signal, Wells said he would do it again despite all the “headaches” that resulted from it.
“We literally did nothing wrong,” he said. “We followed every law that was required of us.”
Wells said this included vetting recipients to ensure they were not on terrorist watch lists or a person of interest lists.
GiveSendGo is a Christian-based crowdfunding platform. Freedom Convoy supporters turned to the forum after the Trudeau Liberals demanded that GoFundMe, used initially for fundraising efforts, freeze more than $10 million of money fundraised.
“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” a GoFundMe spokesperson said two days after freezing Freedom Convoy funds on Feb. 2.
Donors turned to GiveSendGo as a replacement, and more than $1 million was raised within a day. Funds rose to $13 million before Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to stamp out protestors — the most GiveSendGo has raised for a campaign since its inception in 2015.
Where are the funds now?
Wells said funds were initially held in the US. Then, freedom Corp — Freedom Convoy organizer’s legal counsel — incorporated an account to manage the funds and received about $3 million until a hold was placed on the account. The funds are now in an escrow account and are no longer within GiveSendGo’s purview.
Eventually, government employee Zexi Li filed a class action lawsuit, and a judge issued an injunction, stopping crowdfunding sites from releasing funds to the Freedom Convoy.
At the time, about 75% of all funds on GiveSendGo still sat within the platform’s control.
“Eventually, because we weren’t able to fulfill the objective of the giver, in actually having the funds reach the convoy itself because of what the government had passed, we decided to refund the donations,” Wells said.
Wells said GiveSendGo never determined who hacked donor records and released them publicly. In addition, he said his company never corroborated any of the hacked data to public officials, banks or media.
“We’ve never validated that hacked list. I think that’s important to say. Because it’s being used as if all the names on it are actually the names of people who donated,” he said.
“The only way it’s validated at this point is if someone who did give money said so.”
Marion Isabeau-Ringuette , a former Ontario government staffer who was fired after donating $100 to the Freedom Convoy, is suing Premier Doug Ford, his chief of staff and the Toronto Star journalists who reported her donation.
The statement of claim alleges that Isabeau-Ringuette was fired within minutes after journalists contacted her for comment. She is seeking almost $2 million in damages for having her career “destroyed.”
Wells said GiveSendGo has revamped site security but added, “we do have a big target on our back because we stand for freedom.”
He also said the platform has been growing since the Freedom Convoy. It’s used in over 86 countries, and there’s been a massive uptick among Canadians since the February protests.
“I’m appreciative,” he said.
“As much as there’s a headache to it…we got to play a part in the story of what that is, and I guess stand for freedom at this moment in culture.”
