A story that made national headlines multiple times has taken a very dark turn this week. An ultra-successful GoFundMe campaign for a homeless Good Samaritan back in October 2017, which turned into a bitter financial battle in September, has been uncovered as a scam, according to New Jersey law enforcement. As of this writing, all three players in the saga have been arrested.
Johnny Bobbitt Jr., 35, was taken into custody (Wednesday night) [...] and "considered a fugitive of justice from Burlington County (N.J.) relating to the GoFundMe incident," Philadelphia police said in an email.
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(Mark) D'Amico and (Kate) McClure turned themselves in Wednesday to Burlington County prosecutors.
While Bobbitt awaits extradition from Pennsylvania and is held on $50,000 bail, D’Amico and McClure have already been processed and released; under New Jersey’s 2017 criminal justice reform, no cash bail was required.
The tale law enforcement offers is a sordid one. Before diving into the allegations revealed today, let’s recap the story as it unfolded over the last year.
On a GoFundMe page she launched November 10, 2017, McClure, 28, claimed that she ran out of gas in Philadelphia, and Bobbitt saved the day.
Over 14,200 people donated more than $400,000 to supposedly secure Bobbitt’s future, all based on the false narrative that McClure created—a narrative that made national headlines. McClure’s updates to the fundraiser promised that the money would be placed in a trust, after Bobbitt’s immediate needs were met.
The first thing on the list is a NEW Home which Johnny will own!! He will never have to worry about a roof over his head again!! Second will be the dream truck he's always wanted... a 1999 ford ranger (yes I'm serious).
None of that happened, though, and the story made headlines again late this summer, when Bobbitt sued McClure and D’Amico, 38. The couple had upgraded their lifestyle with the donations, he alleged; attorneys claimed that all of the money was gone. GoFundMe immediately gave $20,000 to help Bobbitt get into a residential rehab, vowing he would be “made whole”; law enforcement promised there would be a thorough investigation.
Yet even as local police raided his home and he was arrested on other charges, D’Amico cheerfully insisted that everything would soon become “crystal clear.”
And, boy oh boy, did they.
In an intense press conference Thursday afternoon, Burlington County prosecutor Scott Coffina painted a nasty picture of a conspiracy to defraud strangers—and one another other—in a plot that possibly succeeded more than anyone could have imagined.
Coffina believes that McClure and D’Amico met Bobbitt “one month or more” before taking this well-known photograph on November 10, 2017, at the gas station Bobbitt supposedly walked to in his completely made-up quest to help McClure.
Hours later, Coffina said, the photo and a totally fabricated story about Bobbitt helping the stranded McClure get gas were combined into a “sympathetic tale” about an “alleged selfless act” that was used to launch the GoFundMe campaign in question. The entire campaign, Coffina said, was “predicated on a lie,” but ultimately grossed about $402,000, with a net of roughly $367,000.
Not a dime remains, Coffina stated; most of the money was gone by March, with less than $10,000 remaining after McClure and D’Amico “squandered” it on casinos, lavish trips, at least one car, and expensive handbags. Coffina also mentioned that a “tremendous amount of money” was withdrawn at or near casinos.
Over 60,000 text messages were reviewed through the course of the investigation, which was completed by a task force including Florence Township, New Jersey, police, and both the High Tech Crimes and Financial Crimes division of Burlington County. One key text message from McClure to an unnamed friend flat-out admitted that the gas story was made up, and begged the friend to “shush” about the truth as the story gained steam.
Coffina added that over time, friends and family members, in particular McClure’s mother, realized what was going on; despite McClure and D’Amico using roughly $9,000 of the ill-gotten funds to pay back loans to loved ones, law enforcement currently does not view those folks as complicit, and no further defendants are anticipated.
It’s assumed that McClure and D’Amico befriended Bobbitt thanks to his preferred underpass’ proximity to the Sugarhouse Casino, which the couple frequented. While Coffina was careful to thank Bobbitt for his service in the Marines, and acknowledge the struggles the veteran faced as he dealt with both addiction and homelessness, the prosecutor also made it clear that he believes Bobbitt, who authorities do believe was homeless at the time, was complicit.
In fact, prosecutors discovered that he’d told a similar story in 2012, while living in North Carolina. “(That story) didn’t make the news,” Coffina said. Philadelphia reporter Steve Keeley already found the post in question.
Coffina confirmed that Bobbitt’s allegations in late summer were the reason the investigation was launched, and agreed when asked by reporters if the civil suit was a “miscalculation on (Bobbitt’s) part”; they might have “gotten away with it,” Coffina mused, if they hadn’t started fighting over the money. There’s no honor among thieves, of course, and Bobbitt obviously had the least power in this conspiracy, but, still—
Coffina also pointed out that D’Amico, in particular, was running a long con: When the money was gone in March, the couple was already working on a book deal. When Bobbitt sued in August, the couple simply tweaked things to reflect the scandal, changing the working title to No Good Deed.
Finally, after stating that each defendant faces five to 10 years in prison, Coffina assured the public that GoFundMe will refund every cent that more than 14,000 donors gave to the untrustworthy trio. The prosecutor encouraged folks to keep their hearts open despite this scuzzy scam, and to not be afraid to do good deeds in the future.