GoFundMe to refund homeless helper
Johnny Bobbitt Jr. will get his US$400,000 (NZ$609,000).
GoFundMe and Cozen O’Connor, the Philadelphia law firm representing Bobbitt, announced yesterday in a joint statement that he will receive an amount equal to the balance of the funds he did not get from the online fundraiser set up for him in November.
The campaign was established to help the homeless man whose story of helping a stranded motorist in Philadelphia inspired thousands of people to contribute.
What happened to the actual donations is now under a criminal investigation made public in dramatic fashion yesterday when police executed a search warrant at the Burlington County home of Kate McClure and Mark D’Amico, the couple who launched the online plea for Bobbitt, a 35-year-old North Carolina native living under an I-95 ramp who spent his last US$20 to help McClure when she ran out of gas in Kensington late one night last fall.
‘‘Johnny will be made whole and we’re committing that he’ll get the balance of the funds that he has not yet received or benefited from. GoFundMe’s goal has always been to ensure Johnny gets [the] support he deserves,’’ said the statement, which was emailed to reporters by Bobby Whithorne, director of North America Communications for GoFundMe.
‘‘We’ll continue to assist with the ongoing law enforcement investigation,’’ the statement continued.
Lawyers for Bobbitt and the couple have disagreed on how much of the US$400,000 raised has already been spent on Bobbitt’s behalf. Bobbitt’s legal team maintains that he was given a total of about US$75,000.
The couple’s lawyer, Ernest E. Badway, has said Bobbitt got US$200,000 total. This week, however, Badway disclosed that none of the money remains. – TNS