A New Jersey couple who started a GoFundMe campaign for homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on extravagant trips, designer shoes, and other items, the New York Post reported.
Kate McClure, 28, and Mark D’Amico, 39, created the GoFundMe to help Bobbitt get off the streets and get his life together. The campaign quickly went viral and drew $402,706 from more than 14,000 donors.
The couple began spending the money right after they deposited the funds intended for Bobbitt into their personal bank accounts, one of Bobbitt’s lawyers, Jacqueline Promislo, told the Post.
While the couple allegedly lived well beyond their means, Bobbitt lived like a pauper in a trailer they purchased for him, the lawyer added.
The couple wanted to help Bobbitt after he spent his last $20 to put gas in McClure’s car after she found herself stranded on the side of the road in a Philadelphia neighborhood on Thanksgiving.
What else did the lawyer say?
Promislo, one of the pro bono lawyers representing Bobbitt, told the Post that her law firm believes McClure and D’Amico spent about $68,000 of the money raised on their client.
“Until we have a forensic accountant go through it, I can’t say that they spent his money. But now that they say there is no money, where did it go?” she said.
McClure, a receptionist, and D’Amico, a carpenter, bought the former U.S. Marine a used truck, a computer, and some other items. He lived in the trailer that was parked on their Bordentown property.
But after they blocked his access to the funds, the 35-year-old Bobbitt returned to living under a bridge.
“I know they spent a lot of money,’’ Promislo told the Post.
Bobbitt told his attorney that the couple accumulated a massive collection of expensive items, including Nike shoes, bought a Louis Vuitton bag, Chanel sunglasses, and a new iPhone 10. They also posted pictures of trips to California, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon on their social media accounts.
“There is in my mind about $300,000 that was raised for Johnny that he doesn’t have and that they now say they don’t have,” Promislo said.
What did the couple say?
McClure and D’Amico, who have claimed no wrongdoing, said in previous interviews that Bobbit was back on drugs and that’s the reason they stopped giving him money.
Last month, Bobbitt’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against the couple that accusing them of mismanaging the money and spending it on themselves.
Pennsylvania Judge Paula T. Dow ordered them to turn over all remaining funds to a trust account for Bobbitt.
Last week, the couple’s attorney informed Bobbitt’s lawyers that the money was gone.
The civil lawsuit soon turned into a criminal investigation.
On Thursday, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at the couple’s home. Investigators hauled away bags of evidence and towed a black BMW that may have been bought with the GoFundMe money.
The lawyer for McClure and D’Amico did not return the newspaper’s request for comment.
What else?
Promislo said her client is “really sweet” and still likes McClure, adding that he was hesitant to pursue a lawsuit against the pair.
“Even [Friday], he said to me — when we were meeting and going over his bank account — he said, ‘You know, Kate’s a very nice woman,’” Promislo told the Post. “I said, ‘You were also given very little money when you were living in a trailer in her driveway.’”
On Friday, Bobbitt checked into an in-patient rehab program, according to his attorney.
GoFundMe has promised that Bobbitt will receive the rest of the money owed to him, for which he is grateful, Promislo said.
McClure and D’Amico are expected to appear in court Monday.
via TheBlaze.com – Stories
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