GUILTY NJ - Homeless Veteran helps stranded motorist, Motorist keeps $400k of funding, Aug 2018 *Arrests*

[PrairieWind]

Katelyn McClure pleaded guilty in state Superior Court to second-degree theft by deception under a plea agreement that calls for her to serve four years in state prison and help repay the $400,000.

She had initially faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted under the charges prosecutors initially brought.

McClure faces sentencing on state charges in June.

She also pleaded guilty to one federal count of wire fraud conspiracy in the scheme, and Bobbitt also pleaded guilty to a federal money laundering charge last month.

No sentencing date has been set for either on those federal charges.

https://nj1015.com/kate-mcclure-pleads-guilty-to-********-scam/

Looks like she indeed is going to face serious time. She seems to be taking the brunt of the punishment so far. I don't think that Bobbitt is going to be able to do much to pay back the money.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I wonder if all those trips, designer purses, the car, etc. were worth it?

 

[PrairieWind]

I wonder if all those trips, designer purses, the car, etc. were worth it?

It is hard to understand, isn't it? But, they might have gotten away with it but then they got even more greedy and tried to screw the homeless guy out of his cut. Actually, it was probably always going to ultimately come crashing down.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Mark D’Amico has been indicted on conspiracy and theft charges. D’Amico, 39, was charged with theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, elements of computer theft, misapplication of entrusted property, and conspiracy to commit each of those act.

https://www.philly.com/news/new-jer...ico-johnny-bobbitt-kate-mcclure-20190508.html

 

[JerseyGirl]

McClure’s sentencing was rescheduled for Sept. 16 and could face four years in state prison.

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2...nday-in-gofundme-scam-involving-homeless-man/

 

[JerseyGirl]

From July:

The attorney for [Mark D'Amico] plans to request that the charges against his client be dropped.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/new...******-Scheme-Homeless-Donors--512432221.html

He had a hearing in August (unless it was adjourned). I cannot find any further information.

Katelyn McClure will be sentenced Monday:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/us/gofundme-scam-delay/index.html

 

[Hraefn]

From July:

The attorney for [Mark D'Amico] plans to request that the charges against his client be dropped.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/new...******-Scheme-Homeless-Donors--512432221.html

He had a hearing in August (unless it was adjourned). I cannot find any further information.

Katelyn McClure will be sentenced Monday:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/us/********-scam-delay/index.html

Haven't been able to find any news on the sentencing hearing. Anyone else?

 

[JrzyGirl70]

Her sentencing was supposed to happen last week, but haven't heard anything about it.

Sentencing for Katelyn McClure, woman involved GoFundMe scam, postponed until September

A quick State of NJ Inmate search doesn't show her in any "State" Correctional facility as of yet, nor in Burlington County Jail.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Mark D’Amico appeared at a hearing Monday morning where his lawyer announced their intent to file a motion to dismiss the indictment.

New Jersey Man Charged In GoFundMe Scam Looking To Have Charges Dropped

Mark D'Amico Seeks To Dismiss Charges In GoFundMe Scam

 

[JrzyGirl70]

D'Amico now facing federal charges..

https://www.nj.com/burlington/2019/...s-gofundme-scam-hit-with-new-fed-charges.html

 

[JerseyGirl]

The U.S attorney’s office charged Mark D'Amico on Thursday with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. He was expected to appear in court Thursday.

Katelyn McClure faces four years in state prison and must help repay the $400,000. She must also testify against D'Amico. McClure’s federal sentencing currently is scheduled for November.

Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless military veteran, was sentenced in April to five years' probation in state court and agreed to help repay the money. His federal sentencing is scheduled for later this month.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...e-charges-gofundme-scam-homeless-veteran.html

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Ex-boyfriend pleads guilty in helpful-homeless-man scam | Daily Mail Online

 

[0101ABA]

I’ve avoided this thread until now because honestly I couldn’t process it. As someone who volunteers with the underserved population I can’t imagine taking advantage of them.

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.nj.com/news/2019/12/acc...njdotcom&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Dec 6, 2019

The man charged in a scheme to defraud online well-wishers of hundreds of thousands with a phony story about a homeless man in Philadelphia admitted to one of his state charges in court Friday.

Mark D’Amico, 40, appeared before Judge Terrence Cook in state Superior Court in Mount Holly to plead guilty to misappropriating entrusted property - donations to the GoFundMe campaign set up for Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless man living along I-95 in Philadelphia.

[..]

Attorneys said D’Amico will help pay $402,766 in restitution owed to GoFundMe.

“D’Amico knew all along that the money had been disposed of improperly,” Assistant Prosecutor Andrew McDonnell said. He appeared Friday with colleague Saurabh Singal.

As part of the plea, prosecutors will ask for a flat 5-year sentence, to run concurrent to anything that could be imposed in D’Amico’s still unresolved federal case.

“I’m very happy to be able to focus on the federal case,” Mark Davis, the Hamilton attorney who represents D’Amico, said after the plea hearing. That case, which Davis said he expects to go to trial, remains ongoing in federal court in Camden.

[..]

Davis noted that D’Amico’s plea did not include any admission to a conspiracy to defraud the more than 14,000 people who donated to the viral campaign. The federal charges include conspiracy to launder money and wire fraud.

“He took responsibility for holding money for Johnny Bobbitt for his benefit, and for spending it,” Davis said.

[..]

Bobbitt, 36, and McClure, 29, have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for their roles in the scam in both state and federal courts.

Bobbitt is currently serving a five-year special probation in drug court. The courts have delayed sentencing dates for McClure several times this summer, but she is expected to face 27 to 33 months and four years in federal and state courts, respectively.

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.inquirer.com/news/mark-...t-go-gofundme-scam-homeless-vet-20191206.html

 

[JerseyGirl]

On Wedesday in federal court, Mark D'Amico was indicted on one count each of conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering, as well as on four substantive counts of wire fraud and 10 substantive counts of money laundering.

The charge of wire fraud conspiracy and the four substantive wire fraud charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, as well as five of the substantive money laundering counts, each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The remaining five charges of money laundering charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

GoFundMe scam: Mark D'Amico faces 16-count federal indictment for scheme involving homeless veteran

Both Bobbitt and McClure had agreed to testify against D’Amico during a jury trial.

McClure faces four years in state prison and must help repay the $400,000. She was slated to testify against D'Amico.

Bobbitt, a homeless military veteran, was sentenced in April to five years' probation in state court and agreed to help repay the money.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/new...ed-on-fraud-money-laundering-charges/2272385/

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Bobbitt and McClure have both pleaded guilty to federal and state crimes related to their roles in the scam, with McClure describing her former boyfriend as the leader of the group and the one who concocted the fake story about Bobbitt assisting her. Her attorney has also said he had control of the money raised from the fundraiser.

Bobbitt has been sentenced in state court to five years of probation conditional on him successfully completing the county’s drug court program. McClure pleaded guilty in April to theft by deception and is expected to be sentenced to a four-year prison term as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Sentencing for Bobbitt and McClure’s federal crimes has been postponed until after the federal case against D’Amico is completed.

D’Amico pleaded guilty in New Jersey Superior Court last month to misappropriating the donated funds as part of a negotiated plea agreement with Burlington County prosecutors. Afterward, his attorney said he intends to fight the federal charges that he masterminded and participated in the online ploy.

“He’s never been part of any fraudulent scheme and the facts will play themselves out in federal court,” said Mark Davis, D’Amico’s defense attorney.

If found guilty, D’Amico faces a potential sentence of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines for the wire fraud and another 10 years and a $250,000 fine for the money laundering.
https://www.courierpostonline.com/s...s-veteran-johnny-bobbitt-gofundme/4418412002/

 

[imstilla.grandma]

D'Amico, 40, of Bordertown, was indicted on 16 new charges, among them wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy offenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced Wednesday.

According to the scheme, to repay Bobbitt's generosity D'Amico and McClure created a GoFundMe campaign with the goal to raise $10,000 and help Bobbitt get back on his feet. The campaign spread virally with the help of social media and traditional media and ultimately more than 14,000 donors contributed approximately $400,000.

"The story told by D’Amico and McClure was not true," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. "McClure never ran out of gas and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 for her. D’Amico and McClure conspired to create the false story to obtain money from donors based on false information."
https://www.phillyvoice.com/gofundm...deral-charges-katelyn-mcclure-johnny-bobbitt/

 

[JerseyGirl]

Katelyn McClure Sentencing Hearing For Alleged Role In $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Continued For Later Date

 

[imstilla.grandma]

McClure and D’Amico launched a GoFundMe campaign that went viral. But the story began to unravel when Bobbitt later claimed he had received none of the crowdsourced funds, even filing a lawsuit against the couple.

Prosecutors alleged that D’Amico and McClure spent and gambled away most of the money. And it turned out that Bobbitt was in on the scam as well, in exchange for a cut of the money. The story about McClure running out of gas and Bobbitt coming to her aid was fiction.

Adrienne Gonzalez, founder of the watchdog website GoFraudMe.com, said the three came perilously close to getting away with their scam, until Bobbitt suspected that his partners in crime were cheating him.

“Had they split it three ways and had they given the homeless man his cut, would we have ever heard about it? No, I don’t think we would have,” she said.

Bobbitt and McClure pleaded guilty to state and federal charges in connection with the scam. Bobbitt was sentenced to one year’s probation on the state charge of conspiracy to commit theft by deception. He faces sentencing in October on a single federal count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

McClure has yet to be sentenced on a single state count of second-degree theft by deception and a single federal count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She has agreed to testify against D’Amico, her former boyfriend.

D’Amico has pleaded guilty to a single state charge of misapplication of entrusted property and has been sentenced to five years in prison. But he has pleaded not guilty to a 16-count federal indictment for fraud and conspiracy. His trial is on hold because of the pandemic.

GoFundMe said it honored its guarantee and refunded all of the money raised in the fraudulent campaign, making the 14,000 people who donated whole.

CEO Rob Solomon told NBC News in 2019 that the site beefed up its antifraud measures in the wake of the attempted scam. The site relies heavily on its community of users to report suspicious activity. He said the 2017 fraud could not happen today.

Misuse on the platform is very rare. Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all campaigns result in misuse,” he said.

Sniff test
If an online fundraising campaign strikes a chord with you, and if you are convinced that an established charity cannot meet the need, Campbell suggests stepping back and doing some extra due diligence before you donate.

“There’s a sniff test,” she said. “What’s the purpose? How will the funds be used? Does that sound in any way suspicious?”

Look for details about the intended recipient of the funds. Seek out their social media profiles.

“See if they just started their account, like they just joined Facebook this month,” Campbell said. “Do they have less than 40 friends? And take a look at the photos and the images that they’re using. If they only have one photo, then more likely than not it’s a scam account and you should steer clear.”

Also, look closely at the photos used on the fundraiser’s site to make certain they are genuine. You can perform a Google reverse image search by dragging the photo into the site’s search window. That can tell you if the fundraiser is using a stock photo or an image appropriated from someone else.

Be especially careful when it comes to someone who is raising money for a third party, like D’Amico and McClure fundraising for Bobbitt. What is the connection? Is it real?

“Look for specific details to the victim, to the family, and then look up your own connections,” Campbell said. “Have your friends and family donated? Are they connected in any way to this person?”
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/19/how...owdfunding-drive-without-getting-scammed.html