Chyna Whitaker, who shares a son, Daunte Jr., with Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop by former officer Kim Potter in Minnesota, has filed a lawsuit on Monday against several individuals, including Wright’s parents, attorney Ben Crump and his law firm, CBS News reports.
In the suit, Whitaker alleges that her son has not received a dime of the money raised through GoFundMe donations.
Whitaker also alleges that Crump, who was acting as her legal counsel, assured her that the money donated to a GoFundMe fundraiser created after Wright’s passing (the Daunte Wright Sr. Memorial Fund) would be evenly split between Wright’s family and her son.
The suit alleges that of the $1,039,260 raised through the fund, “not one single penny has been turned over to Plaintiff for the benefit of Daunte Jr.” It has instead gone to Wright’s parents, Arbuey Wright and Katie Bryant, the suit claims.
The suit alleges that Crump personally told Whitaker that Daunte Jr. would receive a portion of the funds — a portion equal to that of his grandparents. Because of that promise, she did not make a separate fundraiser for Daunte Jr.
It also notes that the Daunte Wright Sr. Memorial Fund uses Crump’s law firm as it’s address, Law and Crime reports.
Whitaker said that Crump and Wright’s parents have “all turned their backs” on her and her son, according to CBS News. She said she believes the group committed fraud and misrepresentation.
She’s asking for the following: an amount “in excess of $500,000,” a “full and complete accounting” of accounts connected to the fundraiser, as well as attorney’s fees, costs, disbursements and any other relief the court deems fitting.
According to CBS News, Crump’s law firm issued a statement on the matter Monday, stating that the firm has no involvement in this matter.
“This is strictly a family dispute between the mother of Daunte Wright’s child and Daunte’s parents, who set up the GoFundMe account in question,” it read. “Ben Crump Law never handled or controlled the money from this GoFundMe account, which was under the sole direction of Daunte’s parents. Ben Crump Law did not benefit from any of the funds raised, and we did not accept any fee in this case. Our hearts are always with the family, and we pray that they can find resolution.”
Wright was killed on April 11, 2021, Law and Crime reports.
Almost a year after his murder, a jury determined Potter was guilty of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter.
Potter received a sentence of 24 months — with 16 of those months to be spent behind bars, and the rest on supervised release.
