IT WAS ALL A ‘SCAM!’
GoFeudMe trio’s ‘plot’
The New Jersey couple that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in a viral charity campaign for a homeless man were allegedly working with him as part of an elaborate ruse, according to a new report.
Prosecutors believe that Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure conspired with homeless man Johnny Bobbitt to create their get-richquick scheme in 2017, NBC’s Philadelphia affiliate reported Wednesday night.
The couple turned themselves in on Wednesday, but Bobbitt was still at large, the report said.
According to a source who spoke to the news outlet — which has a copy of a criminal complaint — all three are expected to face charges of conspiracy and theft by deception for working together in the alleged plot. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office is expected to make an announcement in the case on Thursday.
Prosecutors did not immediately return a call for comment and reps for the couple and Bobbitt were not available.
McClure, 28, and D’Amico, 39, created a GoFundMe page in November 2017, claiming Bobbitt had spent his last $20 to fill up McClure’s empty gas tank after her car broke down on I-95 near Philadelphia.
The charity campaign exploded, raising more than $400,000.
“It has changed my entire outlook about people,” McClure said of the donations at the time.
The good vibes began to go bad in August, when Bobbit sued the couple, claiming they were withholding the funds from him.
McClure and D’Amico, of Florence Township, NJ, then accused Bobbit of being on drugs, and said they would refuse to pay him until he was clean.
In September, a lawyer for the couple said he expected they would be indicted — but it was not known until now that all three of them were under suspicion.