crowdfunding campaign
Woman collects $400,000 for a homeless man, puts the money in her own pocket – and now faces arrest
The trio went to fundraising with this photo: Johnny Bobbitt Jr. (left), Katelyn McClure (right) and her friend Mark D’Amico are standing at the gas station where the homeless man allegedly bought the gas for the young woman.
© Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/DPA
Katelyn McClure and her boyfriend raised $400,000 for a homeless man more than four years ago – with a touching story. But that was a big scam. Now she has to go to prison.
At the end of 2017, the story of Katelyn McClure, her then-boyfriend Mark D’Amico and the homeless Johnny Bobbitt from Philadelphia went around the world. In a nutshell: McClure had broken down with her car at night, Bobbitt had bought her gas with his last 20 US dollars. The young woman returned the favor with an online fundraiser, she and her boyfriend raised more than $400,000 for the homeless man.
A year later, in 2018, McClure, D’Amicao and Bobbitt made headlines again. The whole operation had turned out to be a scam: the trio had made up the whole story to get the money from bona fide donors. They were charged with conspiring to commit a crime and fraud. A court sentenced McClure to one year in prison. She had confessed to the crime.
A helpful homeless man and a grateful couple – all made up
As the investigation progressed, the real backstory came to light: “In reality, McClure never got down and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 on her,” prosecutors said. The 32-year-old and her boyfriend at the time came up with the story and set up the fundraising campaign.
The scam was exposed when Bobbitt, feeling aggrieved, sued the couple – unhappy with his $25,000 stake.
After all: Bobbitt really lived on the street, McClure and D’Amico had met him by chance about a month before the start of the crowdfunding campaign. McClure wrote to an acquaintance: “Okay, the gas part is completely made up, but the guy is real. I had to make something up to make people feel sorry.”
The money went on cars and luxury clothes
More than 14,000 donors contributed financially. Of the more than $400,000 in total, after deducting the fees, there was still $367,000 left. The trio is said to have spent most of the money on an expensive car, gambling, designer shoes and a helicopter flight.
Katelyn McClure’s accomplices have already been convicted. Homeless Johnny Bobbitt got five years probation and was sent to drug rehab. Her ex-boyfriend Mark D’Amico is considered the mastermind behind the fraud: he was sentenced to two years and three months in prison in April.
He and McClure also have to pay back the money to the crowdfunding platform as well as the donors.
Sources:CNN / Department of Justice New Jersey