The New Jersey couple who raised more than $400,000 in a viral charity campaign for a homeless man in 2017 was allegedly working with the vagrant as part of an elaborate ruse, according to NBC10.
Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico, of Bordentown, New Jersey, made headlines after setting up a fundraising page for Johnny Bobbitt in 2017.
She said Bobbitt came to her aid and gave her his last $20 when she ran out of gas on an Interstate 95 exit ramp in Philadelphia late one night last October.
Kate McClure, Mark D’Amico, and Johnny Bobbitt will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, according to the source.
Who Is Kate McClure?
Kate McClure, 28, was accused of making up a false GoFundMe story to raise money for a military veteran Johnny Bobbitt in November 2017 with her boyfriend, 39-year-old Mark D’Amico.
They claimed homeless drug addict Bobbitt spent his last $20 to fill up McClure’s empty gas tank after her car broke down on I-95 near Philadelphia. However, their plans began to unravel in August 2018, when Bobbitt sued the couple, claiming they were withholding funds raised on the GoFundMe from him.
McClure and D’Amico, both of Florence Township, NJ, accused Bobbitt of being on drugs and refused to pay him until he was clean.
In September 2018, a lawyer for the couple announced that he expected they would both be indicted for their role in the scam–but it was not known that all three of them were suspected in the plot until Wednesday.
What Happened?
Kate McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, gained public attention when they launched a GoFundMe page for Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless military veteran in November 2017 and raised more than $400,000 to help him get his life back on track. The GoFundMe was created, McClure and D’Amico said at the time, to thank Bobbitt after he spent his last $20 on gas to help McClure out.
More than 14,000 people donated to the GoFundMe campaign McClure and D’Amico set up as a way to give back to Bobbitt.
But now, it has been revealed that McClure, D’Amico and Bobbitt will all face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, NBC10 reported.
They allegedly provided a false story in order to raise money for themselves. Prosecutors believe that Kate McClure and Mark D’Amico conspired with homeless man Johnny Bobbitt to create their get-rich-quick scheme in 2017.
A complaint obtained by NBC10 alleged the trio conspired to make up a fake story to raise money. “A complaint obtained by NBC10 alleges that the three conspired with one another to make up a false story in order to raise more than $400,000,” the report noted. “Investigators say the three deliberately prevented donors for their GoFundMe campaign from gaining information ‘that would affect their judgment about solicited contribution to that fundraising effort.'”
After the GoFundMe campaign went viral last year, the trio appeared on shows like Good Morning America and conducted a number of interviews together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdUCUFd-YH8
In the year since the story and fundraiser went viral, the situation has devolved into a public court battle regarding the spending of the funds. McClure and D’Amico were accused of keeping the money for themselves and preventing Bobbitt from receiving any.
McClure and D’Amico have countered that they were waiting until Bobbitt was clean from drugs before giving him his share. They were wary of giving Bobbitt large sums because they fear he will buy drugs.
In August 2018, Bobbitt sued the couple, and in September the McClure and D’Amico were expecting to both be indicted.
D’Amico and McClure turned themselves Wednesday, November 15 in Burlington County, though Bobbitt is reported still at large. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s office will likely make an announcement regarding the case later Wednesday.