VIDEO: Delivery Man Nets More than $500,000 from Crowdfunding After Troll Films and Harasses Him at Store

A purported thoughtless prank on a product delivery worker back in August has prompted a viral response this week to the father of four with a crowdfunding windfall that is gifting him more than a half million dollars — and counting. The alleged prank, filmed by the supposed scammer, shows a Red Baron pizza delivery worker identified only as “Walter Z” from Michigan being ambushed by the prankster who pretends to steal money from him by remotely connecting to his phone and mimics tapping his Apple Pay. In the video, the alleged prankster first asks for the time as the delivery man, Walter Z, is stocking a freezer reportedly at a Walmart. When the worker takes out his phone to check the time, the troll says, “Thank you, bro. I just took ten dollars.” The worker appears to say he does not have time for such nonsense, adding, “I’m not in the mood for such crap right now.” Walter walks away saying he is going to report the troll to store management. They meet up again near the cashier stations where the prankster now says he took $20. Then the confrontation becomes intense as Walter Z pushes back. “I don’t know what’s going on,” Walter says. “You’re just a little punk.” “It’s just a joke,” the prankster replies. “It’s not a joke to me,” the worker barks back. “I don’t have time for this crap in my life. My life is hard enough as it is…I got kids at home that went to bed without me right now. And I was supposed to be home an hour ago. And I’m still out here working. And I’ve got to get up in the morning and do ten more stores.” He then explodes, shouting, “And so this is not a joke to me.” He screams, “You’re probably making money off this and I can’t even pay my goddamn mortgage and I got four kids at home.” The video originally was apparently posted to Instagram by the account @thea.ctiveworld, also known as ThreeOfAKind, an account which has since been deleted, the Detroit News reported. Enter into this online story a man identified on GoFundMe as Luke Oakenshield of Arizona, who writes that he did not know Walt personally but was launching the crowdfunding campaign to “give this employee some breathing room while everything unfolds, especially so they can keep supporting their family and have some protection if they are fired.” Some 15,000 donations poured in as the video spread online this week, the total as of Friday now at over $578,000. Walter Z, whose full name has apparently been learned and whom Oakenshield assures will receive the money, posted a response to the outpouring on the site: I wanted to take a moment to personally thank everyone who has donated, shared this fundraiser, or left a kind message. The kindness and encouragement you’ve shown me and my family have meant more than I can put into words. My family and I are doing well, and I’m grateful to have supportive people around me. I’ve been keeping things private to protect my family’s privacy, and I appreciate everyone respecting that. Still, some reporters are trying to find out more about the incident. A spokesman for the company that owns Red Baron told the New York Post, “We are aware of the video circulating on social media involving one of our Direct Store Delivery employees during an incident that occurred in August.” The representative continued, “Following the incident, we connected directly with our team member to check on his well-being, and we continue to offer our support. We are pleased to share that he is doing well and remains a valued member of our team.” When the Detroit News reached out to Walter Z to get more information on the viral clip and the subsequent fundraiser, “his wife said they are declining media interviews for now,” the daily newspaper reported. No outlet has reported the location of the store or if police were ever called to investigate the alleged money skimming from the worker’s phone, though reportedly that was only a ruse to get a reaction. The biggest response came from people on social media reacting to the complaint, with most calling it a stunt to get clicks at “someone else’s expense” and others describing it as a social media “cancer.” Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson called it “something that has a happy ending” but went on to say that Walter Z’s reaction was symptomatic of something in the zeitgeist. Johnson said the expenses of gas, food, and mortgages are “bearing down on the productive end of society that holds up everything else” while streamers pull pranks, “politicians enrich themselves,” and “we watch parasites from third world nations come here to create cartels to loot our treasury.” “It begins to create a pressure cooker that is not easily solved,” Johnson said Thursday when donations were at $100,000. “People have had enough,” Johnson concluded. “The pressure has finally cooked.” Contributor Lowell Cauffiel, and former Michiganian, is the best-selling author of Masquerade: A True Story of Seduction, Compulsion and Murder, the story of the sordid double life of an elite Detroit psychologist, which is revealed only after his murder and dismemberment. He was a Detroit News reporter at the time. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.