Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Homeless Samaritan Tale Raised $400K. Police Say It’s a Lie.
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
November 17, 2018

Share

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — A feel-good tale of a homeless man using his last $20 to help a stranded New Jersey woman buy gas was actually a complete lie, manufactured to get strangers to donate more than $400,000 to help the down-and-out good Samaritan, a prosecutor said Thursday.

“The entire campaign was predicated on a lie. It was fictitious and illegal and there are consequences.” Burlington County prosecutor Scott Coffina

Burlington County prosecutor Scott Coffina announced criminal charges against the couple who told the story to newspapers and television stations along with the homeless man who conspired with them to tell the story.

Coffina said the money, donated to homeless Marine veteran Johnny Bobbitt, will be refunded to people who saw the story and contributed to him through a GoFundMe page set up by the couple, Mark D’Amico and Katelyn McClure.

“The entire campaign was predicated on a lie,” Coffina said. “It was fictitious and illegal and there are consequences.”

Coffina said almost no part of the tale was true. McClure didn’t run out of gas. Bobbitt didn’t spot her in trouble and give her money.

People Who Donated Money Would Get a Full Refund

Instead, the group met near a Philadelphia casino in October 2017 shortly before the three told their story.

“I had to make something up to make people feel bad.” — Katelyn McClure

Less than an hour after the couple set up the page to solicit donations, McClure sent a text message to a friend acknowledging the story was “completely made up,” prosecutors said.

“I had to make something up to make people feel bad,” McClure said in a text — one of 60,000 reviewed by prosecutors — to a friend.

GoFundMe said in a statement that people who donated money would get a full refund in the coming days. Coffina said the effort netted $367,000.

The group spent lavishly, Coffina said, and there are “zero” dollars left.

The couple bought a BMW, took a New Year’s trip to Las Vegas and bought high-end handbags, among other items.

More than $85,000 in cash was withdrawn at, or near, casinos in Atlantic City, Bensalem, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.

Photo of mugshots of Johnny Bobbitt, from left, Katelyn McClure and Mark D'Amico
This November 2018 combination of photos provided by the Burlington County Prosecutors office shows Johnny Bobbitt, from left, Katelyn McClure and Mark D’Amico. A feel-good tale of Bobbitt, a homeless man using his last $20 to help Katelyn McClure, a stranded New Jersey woman, buy gas, was actually a complete lie, a prosecutor said Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. A GoFundMe that was set up by McClure and her boyfriend D’Amico raised more than $400,000 to help Bobbitt. (Burlington County Prosecutors Office via AP)

The Fraud Didn’t Stop With the GoFundMe Page

The fraud didn’t stop with the GoFundMe page. The trio did interview after interview, posed for photos together, revisited the spot where they claimed their first encounter happened and went on “Good Morning America.” The Associated Press prominently featured their story.

Bobbitt, 35, was arrested Wednesday night by U.S. marshals in Philadelphia and remained in custody Thursday on probation detainers and a $50,000 bond. A message was left with a previous attorney of Bobbitt’s.

D’Amico, 39, and McClure, 28, surrendered to authorities Wednesday night and were released. Their attorney said they have no comment.

All were charged with theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft by deception. The charges carry prison time of up to 5 to 10 years.

Prosecutors began investigating after Bobbitt claimed he wasn’t getting the money that had been raised on his behalf. He later sued the couple.

The Alleged Fraud Might Not Have Been Uncovered

The prosecutor said “there’s a good chance” the alleged fraud might not have been uncovered had Bobbitt not brought a civil suit earlier this year alleging that the couple mismanaged the funds.

The prosecutor said “there’s a good chance” the alleged fraud might not have been uncovered had Bobbitt not brought a civil suit earlier this year alleging that the couple mismanaged the funds.

The investigation began after the lawsuit was brought and parts of the group’s story “didn’t ring true,” Coffina said.

In one text exchange in March 2018, McClure worried that she and D’Amico had less than $10,000 remaining, but D’Amico wasn’t concerned, Coffina said.

He was certain that a book deal they were pursuing would “dwarf” the money from the GoFundMe fundraiser and a few months later, when the dispute with Bobbitt became public, D’Amico was not dissuaded, according to the prosecutor.

Instead D’Amico pitched a title that would encompass the controversy: “No Good Deed.”

Investigators searched the Florence, New Jersey, home of D’Amico and McClure in September after questions arose about what happened to the money they raised for Bobbitt.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

DON'T MISS

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

DON'T MISS

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

DON'T MISS

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

DON'T MISS

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

DON'T MISS

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

UP NEXT

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

UP NEXT

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

UP NEXT

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

3 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

4 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

4 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

4 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

4 hours ago

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

5 hours ago

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

5 hours ago

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

6 hours ago

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

6 hours ago

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

6 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

WASHINGTON — Many Americans do not agree with President Trump’s aggressive efforts to quickly enact his agenda, a new poll finds, and ...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

3 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

3 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

3 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

4 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

4 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

4 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

Rams
4 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend