George Zimmerman raises $204,000 with website !? Spends $50K.

The shooter of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin reportedly used the power of the web to ante up on over $200,000 in donations since he made headlines over the controversial February murder.



According to the reports, Zimmerman has already spent a quarter of the donations.

Zimmerman, the man who shot their son, raised $204,000 in just three weeks with a PayPal account posted to a website. He spent about $50,000 before his defense lawyer ever learned of the fund's swelling balance, his attorney, Mark O'Mara, acknowledged. O'Mara recently created a new fundraising site administered by a former IRS agent and registered with the Florida Division of Consumer Services. He told ABC News that he raised nearly $8,000 in the first few days the site was active. "I'm not going to be unrealistic to the fact that everyone is seeking donations in relation to this case, including the Trayvon Martin family," O'Mara said at a recent press conference. "It seems as though we have become in this criminal justice system a system where we can ask other people to help us. That's what we are doing." The fund now also includes the $150,000 balance transferred from the original PayPal account Zimmerman had set up.

(Kansas City Star)

Details on some of the expenses Zimmerman racked up have also been unveiled.

In a statement on his website, O'Mara said Zimmerman spent $7,000 on PayPal fees, $5,000 on bond, and $1,000 at the jail commissary and for phone cards. He also paid off existing debts and set up a secure living quarters while he awaits trial, the statement said, without offering dollar figures. "Roughly a third of the balance remains liquid and in Mr. Zimmerman's possession for living expenses for the next few months," O'Mara said. "So far, none of the funds have been applied to legal expenses." O'Mara did not return repeated messages seeking clarification. "George, I'll be donating monthly," Facebook user Annette Elaine Kelly of Ontario posted on the Facebook page O'Mara set up for the case. "I hope that you have been truthful (I believe you have) and that people will give you a fair hearing. Take care."

(Kansas City Star)