HENDERSON (KTNV) — A veteran who lost his life savings to an online scam got an unexpected surprise — and a reminder that strangers can still show up for each other — thanks in part to a story Channel 13 told you about last month.
WATCH: Channel 13 story sparks global effort to help scammed Nevada veteran
Mitchell Gordon and his family reached out to us after he fell for an elaborate online scam that ended up draining his life savings of about $45,000.
Channel 13 spoke with him and after he detailed what happened, we got to work. We were able to work with Bitcoin Depot to get Mitchell a full refund for what scammers had him deposit into a Bitcoin ATM, which was a little over $25,000.
It wasn't all he lost, but it was a start.
Samuel Weidenhofer is from Australia. He started a GoFundMe community where he amplifies fundraising pages for veterans on the platform.
He's making it his mission to visit all 50 states, honoring a veteran who served our country in each one. In Nevada, that's Mitchell Gordon.
"I think it was Channel 13 where I saw the article, which is amazing," Weidenhofer explained when I asked how he first found Gordon's story. "Thank you guys. You started this."
"We were able to reach out to his son directly and keep it a surprise for Mitchell and approach him in a car park in Henderson and share his story from there," Weidenhofer said. "What we've been able to raise so far has been amazing."
Weidenhofer's goal is to raise $10 million to help veterans across the country.
