Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on Nov. 15. that an investigation behind the Florence Township couple’s successful GoFundMe campaign that raised money for a homeless veteran was “fictitious and formed the basis of a scam.”
“The entire campaign was predicated on a lie,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “Less than an hour after the GoFundMe campaign went live, McClure, in a text exchange with a friend, stated that the story about Bobbitt assisting her was ‘completely made up.’ She did not run out of gas on an I-95 off-ramp, and he did not spend his last $20 to help her. Rather, D’Amico, McClure and Bobbitt conspired to fabricate and promote a feel-good story that would compel donors to contribute to their cause.”
Mark D’Amico, 39, Katelyn McClure, 28, and Johnny Bobbitt Jr., 35, were all charged with Theft by Deception (second degree) and Conspiracy to Commit Theft by Deception (second degree), according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s office.
The “Paying it Forward” GoFundMe campaign was founded on Nov. 10, 2017 when D’Amico, the boyfriend of McClure of Florence, took a photograph of Bobbitt Jr. and McClure standing in front of the Girard Avenue exit ramp on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.
As the fabricated story went, according to the prosecutor’s report, McClure ran out of gas on a highway and Bobbitt, a homeless veteran with a drug addiction, approached her and gave the couple the last $20 on his person as an act of kindness.
Soon after, D’Amico and McClure took to social media, sharing this story, which went viral as the couple launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign for Bobbitt. Originally aimed to raise $10,000 for Bobbitt, the attraction of this “warm-hearted” story garnered more than $400,000 from donors.
As the story’s popularity gained traction both nationally and internationally, the trio upheld the story and shared it with multiple media outlets to increase donors and contributions to the campaign.
Within a few months of the campaign’s creation, all of the money had been spent between the couple on a luxury automobile and various high-end goods, as well as extravagant trips, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Bobbitt claimed he hadn’t gotten his promised share of the campaign funds.
In response, Bobbitt pursued civil action against D’Amico and McClure in August, which led to an investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit and High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from the Florence Township Police Department.
Officials said Bobbitt alleged through his attorneys that he had only received approximately $75,000 of the funds raised on his behalf, which included an $18,350 trailer purchased for him and parked at the home of D’Amico and McClure.
McClure and D’Amico claimed that approximately $200,000 was turned over to Bobbitt, but according to the prosecutor’s statement, their investigation of subpoenaed financial documents and bank accounts revealed that McClure generated a net total of more than $367,000 from the campaign that was deposited into her accounts last year from November through December.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, the investigation reviewed more than 60,000 text messages between the trio as well.
Reports of the conversations through text between the trio revealed that they had admitted to acquaintances of the story’s fabrication and were making efforts to keep details of it hidden from the public.
Officials said the investigation of the texts also revealed that “the couple had known Bobbitt for at least a month prior to the date of the GoFundMe campaign’s launch, as they had become acquainted with him during their frequent trips to a local gambling casino.”
According to the prosecutor’s statement, D’Amico and McClure surrendered on Nov. 14 and were processed and released. Bobbitt, of the Kensington section of Philadelphia, was also charged on Nov. 14 and remains incarcerated in Philadelphia pending an extradition proceeding.
Officials said Bobbitt was located and taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in Philadelphia, the U.S. Marshal’s Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force – Camden Division, and the Burlington County Sherriff’s Office Warrant Unit.
“All donors who contributed to this GoFundMe campaign will receive a full refund,” said Bobby Whithorne, the company’s Director of North America Communications. “We are fully cooperating and assisting law enforcement officials to recover every dollar withdrawn by Ms. McClure and Mr. D’Amico.”
The case will now be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury by Assistant Prosecutor Andrew R. McDonnell, supervisor of the BCPO Financial Crimes Unit.