Invented to make money: a homeless person and a couple who collected more than $ 400 000 for him were arrested

According to the source, Mark D'Amico, Kate McClure and Johnny Bobbit were charged with conspiracy and theft by deception.

Homeless, who was at the center of GoFundMe's campaign last year, and the couple who collected more than $ 400 000 for him, were arrested last night.

35-year-old Johnny Bobbitt, Jr. was taken into custody right on Philadelphia Street and "was considered a fugitive from justice in Burlington County related to the GoFundMe incident," the Philadelphia police said via email. He is extradited to the state of New Jersey.

NBC10 was the first to report that Bobbitt and a couple from New Jersey, Kate McClure and Marc D'Amico, were charged with conspiracy and theft by defrauding GoFundMe campaign, which began in 2017 year.

In a lawsuit filed by NBC10, it is claimed that the three conspired with each other to make up a false story and earn more than 400 000 dollars.

Investigators say the three intentionally prevented donors in their GoFundMe campaign from receiving information “that would influence their decision to contribute to fundraising efforts.”

How it all began

This story happened in Philadelphia. 27-year-old Kate McClure was driving in a car, going to visit her friend when she ran out of gas on the highway at the entrance to the city.

It was a late evening outside, and the girl was confused: not a soul was around, but there was no money. While she called her fiance to come to the rescue, a homeless man named Johnny Bobbit, who lived under the bridge, came to Kate. He recommended her to close in the car more reliably, and he went to get gas. After spending his last 20 dollar bill on a gas canister, Bobbit helped Kate to refuel. She promised to return and give him a debt.

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Photo: GoFundMe

Kate and her fiancee returned the next day and gave Bobbit money. After that, regularly driving through the same place, they welcomed Johnny and gave him small amounts. After talking, the couple found out that the 34-year-old man is a former emergency doctor who was left without work and housing after problems with drugs and the law.

The young people decided to help the man, collected warm clothes for him, which he was very touched by. But then they got the idea to completely change his life. Kate has created a page on the fundraising resource. GoFundMe. Its original purpose was 10 thousand dollars - for the basic needs of Bobbit. As a result, for 17 days, fees amounted to thousands of dollars 384. “This is incredible,” the girl wrote in her Facebook account.

15 000 people donated $ 402 000 to a homeless person whose unselfish act of kindness attracted everyone’s attention.

But the couple did not give the money completely to the homeless, because, in their words, he was spending everything on drugs. After which the homeless veteran filed a lawsuit, claiming that they themselves began to spend the money that was donated to him.

During the hearing, the couple explained that they initially deposited money into their own bank account, because Bobbit did not have an identity card or document to receive it.

“We worked to get it all. It takes a long time,” McClure said.

Meanwhile, the couple used the funds to buy the Bobbit trailer, which he chose himself, after he refused to buy the house. They even allowed him to park near his house while they were dealing with documents.

When Bobbit's documents arrived, the couple created a bank account for him, but by this time they began to notice the disturbing behavior of the man. Especially when, after Christmas, the couple transferred $ 25 00 to Bobbit’s account, but the money ran out within 13 days.

"Every dollar he touched was used to buy drugs," D'Amico said.

The couple's requests to Bobbitt to undergo a rehabilitation program were unsuccessful, so they did not transfer the remaining amount of money.

D'Amico says that out of the original 400 000 dollars, only 150 000 dollars remain.

“He spent a lot of money,” he said of Bobbitt.

D'Amico explained that after the money was withdrawn from GoFundMe and paid taxes, there were about 350 000 dollars left. Of this amount, 200 000 dollars were spent on his trailer, legal fees, a hotel for Bobbit, an SUV, a TV, a laptop, two phones and sending money to his parents.

However, since then, the couple sold the van for just 10 000 dollars, as well as an SUV, because Bobbit wanted to use the money from the sale to leave New Jersey. He claims that he did not receive this money.

Meanwhile, Bobbitt accused the couple of embezzling money for their needs - vacation and buying a new car - but they deny the charges.

Although D'Amico admits that he used 500 dollars in donations for casino gambling, he insists that Bobbit was at that moment with him, and gave his permission.

Bobbit's lawyer and a lawyer for the couple have not yet commented.

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