NJ Couple's $400K For Homeless Man's GoFundMe Is Gone: Attorney
The drama surrounding a $400,000 GoFundMe account that a New Jersey couple established for a homeless veteran continued this week as the attorney representing Johnny Bobbit Jr. said the money is all gone.
Last month, the “paying it forward” fundraiser went from heartwarming to downright ugly after the New Jersey couple was accused by Bobbit — the man they were supposed to be helping — of using the funds for lavish trips and other personal expenses.
Bobbit filed a lawsuit against the couple, Kate McClure and Mark D’Amico. The couple was subsequently ordered to turn over the remainder of the $400,000 raised for Bobbit, a former Marine, to his attorney. They were also ordered to provide information on how the rest of the money was spent.
However, as of Tuesday morning, there is no more money left, said Chris Fallon, who represents Bobbit.
“Last Monday, they went on Megyn Kelly and told the world there was still $150,000 left,” Fallon said. “But now they’re saying it’s all gone. We have some serious questions about that.”
Ernest Badway, the attorney representing D’Amico and McClure, had no comment when reached by Patch early Tuesday afternoon.
Fallon said he has sent Badway a list of documents he’d like to see concerning what happened to the more than $400,000 that was raised through the “Paying it Forward” GoFundMe fundraiser, which was launched in November to help the former Marine get a fresh start in life.
D’Amico and McClure launched the campaign after Bobbit gave his last $20 to McClure after she ran out of gas on I-95 on her way to Philadelphia. The fundraiser made national headlines, and generated far more cash than the couple had originally hoped. After their viral success, the trio made the rounds on morning television shows to share their inspiring story.
But things quickly deteriorated.
Last month, Bobbit told Philly.com that he had returned to panhandling, and that he has no access to the money that was raised for him through the campaign. Soon after, he filed a lawsuit against the couple.
The matter went before a judge, who ruled in Bobbit’s favor, citing the likely irreparable harm done to Bobbit because he is homeless and collecting money from a GoFundMe campaign. The money was to be held in an escrow account and turned over to Fallon, but it was then revealed during a conference call Tuesday morning that it was gone.
D’Amico had said he was controlling the money that was raised and would give it to Bobbit when he “gets a job and stops using drugs,” the Philly.com report said.
Fallon admitted that Bobbit had fallen off the wagon a couple of times. Fallon and three Philadelphia women are currently trying to get Bobbit into what he described as an “excellent” drug treatment and recovery program.
Bobbit has described himself as a “functioning addict” in North Carolina who moved to Philadelphia for a fresh start before falling back into his old ways.
He had said he bought a home with the money raised, but five months after he grabbed national headlines, he was living in a camper on property owned by D’Amico and McClure in Florence, N.J. He said he wasn’t able to get his dream truck because he didn’t have a driver’s license.
He has since sold the camper and was back on the streets before receiving help from the three Philadelphia woman Fallon previously referred to as Bobbit’s “Guardian Angels.”
“Our goal is to not only help him recover the money, but also to get him treatment,” Fallon said.
The attached image was posted on the Paying It Forward GoFundMe Page.