Scheme for $400k

A few years ago a New Jersey resident founded a charity to help a homeless veteran. Now he is accused of spending the raised funds on casinos and expensive stuff.

In 2017, 42-year-old New Jersey resident Mark D’Amico and his girlfriend Caitlin McClure founded a GoFundMe charity. The story behind the foundation was that one day McClure ran out of gas in her car and had no money on her. She was allegedly helped by a former serviceman Johnny Bobbitt, who was homeless and gave his $20 for gas.

McClure and D’Amico set up the GoFundMe to raise money for Bobbitt’s living expenses. After some time the fundraiser attracted more than $400k.

However, law enforcement recently found that the fund had been created by scammers, and D’Amico and Bobbitt first met near the SugarHouse casino in Philadelphia, after which they invented the story of the homeless man’s noble deed. After the funds were raised the founders gave Bobbitt $25k and bought him an RV, in which he lived for a while. Later Bobbitt sued D’Amico and McClure seeking financial help.

The judges found that none of the raised $400k remained: the scammers spent the fund’s money on luxury items and trips to casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

McClure received four years in prison, and Bobbitt was sentenced to five years probation. Mark D’Amico faces imprisonment for five to ten years on the more serious charges.