WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?
Judge puts heat on GoFeudMe duo
The New Jersey couple accused of pocketing cash meant for a kindhearted homeless veteran must testify about what happened to the money, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Mount Holly Superior Court Judge Paula Dow ordered Kate McClure and Mark D’Amico to give depositions about what they did with $400,000 they raised online via GoFundMe for Johnny Bobbitt, who last Thanksgiving gave $20 to McClure to put gas in her empty tank in a tough section of Philadelphia.
The couple was ordered to meet with Bobbitt, 35, and his lawyer Monday at a Jersey detoxification facility where Bobbitt is being treated, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bobbitt, who must also give a deposition, accuses the couple of mismanaging the funds they raised for him and committing fraud.
More than 14,000 people donated funds to help Bobbitt after the couple launched the online fundraiser, but it’s unclear what happened to the cash.
A lawyer for Bobbitt said his client received only about $75,000, a camper and a 19-year-old pickup truck — and contends that the couple used the rest to “enjoy a lifestyle they could not afford.”
McClure, a 28-year-old receptionist, and D’Amico, 39, are denying they did anything wrong — claiming they withheld some of the money so Bobbitt wouldn’t blow it all on drugs.
Judge Dow on Tuesday had given the couple 24 hours to deposit what’s left of the money into an escrow account that would be controlled by Bobbitt’s legal team.
But the deadline passed without McClure and D’Amico complying.
Bobbitt’s lawyer, Christopher C. Fallon Jr., said he received a phone call from the couple’s attorney telling him there was no money left.
“I’m not sure that I accept that it is all gone,” Fallon said in court Wednesday. “We would like to recover any money that is owed to Mr. Bobbitt.”
So the judge asked for financial records from the couple’s attorney to trace the funds — leading their lawyer, Ernest E. Badway, to raise the possibility of the couple invoking their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
“You should advise your clients that they are directed by the court to appear, and they can assert their privileges at that time,” a fed-up Dow said. “I am no longer comfortable with counsel representing what their clients purport to say, when I have no certifications from the clients, no appearances by the clients, and a record that before me lacks clarity at times as to what happened with the funds.”
Badway told The Post he had no o comment about why his clients ts would be inclined to plead the Fifth. h. Dow ordered attorneys on both sides es to get their paperwork in order and d establish a money trail to see who o spent how much.
GoFundMe said it has deposited d $20,000 into an escrow account to o help Bobbitt “to provide assistance e during the investigation.”
If fraud is revealed, donors can n get refunds up to $1,000 each.