Mark D’Amico, the boyfriend involved in an alleged GoFundMe scam that went viral, pleaded not guilty to charges on Tuesday. Ex-girlfriend Katelyn McClure and another man Johnny Bobbitt previously pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors say all three faked a heart-warming story to elicit donations. In their story, Bobbitt, a homeless man, gave McClure his last $20 after she ran out of gas. The couple ostensibly tried to help him out by telling this story on GoFundMe. They collected about $400,000. Things started to fall apart, with Bobbitt claiming that the couple took some of the money for themselves.
D’Amico is the last remaining defendant. The other two separately pleaded guilty to charges in state and federal court.
In a $400K GoFundMe scam involving a homeless vet, Mark D’Amico, charged with conspiracy, rejects a plea offer of 5 yrs in prison during a NJ court hearing today
— Jan Hefler (@JanHefler) May 28, 2019
McClure and Bobbitt have agreed to testify against him at trial, prosecutors said.
The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office say over 14,000 people gave donations in the scam. Prosecutors said D’Amico and his ex spent a lot of the money on personal stuff, like a trip to Las Vegas, a helicopter rid over the Grand Canyon, and a BMW.
“Mr. Bobbitt was an instrumental part of the fraudulent campaign; indeed he was the face of it,” Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.
An attorney for McClure said she had a good motivation behind all of this, and just wanted to help Bobbitt. He released a secret recording ostensibly depicting his client accused D’Amico of starting it all.
[Mugshot via Burlington County]
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