Crowdfunded activities have lately stood for a lot more than helping the needy or supporting parents so they can provide better medical care for their children. Lately, sites such as GoFundMe have seen indulgent couples ask friends to support their honeymoon dreams (often causing bitter arguments) and unethical crooks collecting funds for bogus charities. Go Fund Me doesn’t give unethical behavior a pass, unfortunately people have found a way to use these funds to for any use they want!
Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure
Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure live in a nice area of New Jersey called Bordentown, and up until recently, they have seemed nice, raising more than $400,000 for a homeless veteran named Johnny Bobbitt.
The couple allegedly befriended Bobbitt in an attempt to get him off the streets. The problem is that they can’t seem to explain to the veteran or anyone else what happened to the money. After dodging questions for a few weeks, Bobbitt’s lawyers and the police had had enough. A judge issues a search warrant. Burlington County stated: “a search warrant was executed early this morning by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Florence Township Police Department at the residence of D’Amico and McClure in connection with a criminal investigation into the Johnny Bobbitt matter.”
Though no charges have been formally filed, when the warrant was executed and television crews arrived on the scene, they witnessed a brand new, black BMW being towed away from the home and several bags full of presumably new merchandise.
About Johnny Bobbitt
It was a somewhat bizarre story. Somehow, in December 2017, Kate McClure managed to run out of gas and in a turn-around situation, Johnny Bobbitt, the homeless veteran gave her his last money, a $20 bill. She was so touched, she set up a GoFundMe page to help get him off the streets. The couple posed for pictures with the man and the page caught fire. People, being what they are, opened their hearts and the money rolled in.
Johnny Bobbitt is a drug addict. Let’s not deceive ourselves as to that fact. He needed treatment. Nevertheless, as the money came in, $75,000 found its way to him. He spent it on a camper and an SUV which seemed logical given that he was homeless, however, the urge to take drugs soon over-powered his need for transportation and shelter. He sold both to support his drug habit. Still, no one knows what happened to the remaining money. This is when Bobbitt approached law enforcement.
The couple retained an attorney and initially, the lawyer announced that $200,000 had gone to the homeless man. The attorney later changed his tune. It was $75,000. In August 2018, Mark D’Amico said that he was keeping the funds safe until Bobbitt was in recovery, employed and permanently off drugs. It seemed a logical, almost compassionate argument.
The judge wanted a much more solid arrangement. He directed D’Amico and McClure to wire the remaining $225,000 into a trust fund that Bobbitt’s lawyers would manage after Bobbitt went into a 30-day treatment regimen. The couple balked, and with good reason, it seems because the funds have disappeared.
The GoFundMe organization is working with law enforcement to make certain Bobbitt gets all of the funds he was promised.
A Case of Opportunity?
Although the scandal has not been completely adjudicated, the fact that police have seized a brand-new BMW and several bags of merchandise is a warning sign that something highly unethical took place. Also, as the media descended on the scene, it seemed somewhat odd that Katie McClure, as yet uncharged, would cover her face with a coat and scamper off into the back of a friend’s car. Innocent people just don’t do that.
Whether it was D’Amico or McClure, or both, someone saw an opportunity. To siphon funds from the money 
presumably collected from friends and strangers; many of whom who wanted to help a stranger who had been in the military.
Possibly, they reasoned that a drug addict would have been so out of it, he wouldn’t know what they gave him or how much they would have spent on their own indulgences. In some ways it was the most unethical move of all; instead of protecting him, they stole from him.
Go Fund Me doesn’t give unethical behavior a pass, unfortunately people have found a way to use these funds to for any use they want!
