All $400k of GoFundMe money gone, says lawyer of homeless man suing couple

[mfcorey1]

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ (RNN) – An attorney for a homeless man whose act of kindness prompted a $400,000 GoFundMe campaign, said that the money raised for his client is gone, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Chris Fallon, who represents Johnny Bobbitt Jr., said he learned the funds had been depleted during a conference call Tuesday with the lawyers for Kate McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico.

The announcement comes a week after Bobbitt’s lawyers asked a judge to make the couple submit an account of the money and move what was left into a trust.

The couple is accused of mismanaging the more than $400,000 donated by 14,000 people to help Bobbitt while also denying him access to the pot. That money was raised in nine months.

http://www.kxxv.com/story/39021644/all-400k-of-gofundme-money-gone-says-lawyer-of-homeless-man-suing-couple

[Luciferous]

1. I'm not surprised by this.

[Sherman A1]

2. They should pay every dime of it

back to the fund.

[LisaL]

9. Where are they going to get it?

[Coventina]

13. A court can garnish their wages until it is paid. n/t

[LisaL]

14. it'd be a long long time before they can pay back that kind of money.

[Coventina]

16. Yes, but at least they would be as broke as the guy they ripped off. n/t

[Deuce]

21. Yes...

[Sherman A1]

23. And that is a reason to not do so?

People donated to a cause based upon the information that this couple provided and that obligation needs to be fulfilled. They went out of their way to take this upon themselves to create this cause (nobody forced them to do so) and request donations, they have an obligation to see the issue through. That they likely spent the money on themselves is even more of a reason for them to fulfill the obligations that they took upon themselves.

If it takes until the end of their days, so be it.

[pnwmom]

32. They could start by selling the new BMW they bought and anything else that's sellable. n/t

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. They're a couple after Trump's own heart

[BigmanPigman]

4. They must be related to the moron...

crooks and liars.

[MineralMan]

5. Prison. Grand Larceny. They stole it.

Prosecute them.

[2naSalit]

7. +1

[shanny]

6. There were a bunch of people defending them

claiming that if they turned over the money the homeless guy would just buy drugs.

It would appear injectable/ingestible drug addiction is not the only kind.

[LisaL]

8. Exactly. I was surprised how many posters believed their story.

I personally didn't find it believable.

[Blue_true]

10. They could have set up a Trust.

The money would get doled out over years. If you want to see a person's true character, get a lot of money involved.

[tammywammy]

11. The fact they put the money in their own account instead of opening a separate one was super shady

They said he didn't have the identification to open a bank account so they just put it in their own which makes no sense. Why wouldn't you just open a second account?

[LisaL]

12. They said lots of things. They claimed there was $150,000 still remaining.

Now we find out there is nothing?

[tammywammy]

15. Here's a longer article

http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/ohnny-bobbitt-jr-go-fund-me-kate-mcclure-mark-damico-money-gone-20180904.html

Go Fund Me has given $20k and his lawyers are trying to get him into a 28-day rehab. Also I didn't realize the couple sold the camper and truck.

[LisaL]

18. The truck and camper were in their name, so I expected that.

[JI7]

22. exactly, or even give the money to some homeless charities

[LisaL]

27. It wasn't their money to give away as they pleased.

If they set up GoFundMe for their vacation time, that'd be one thing. They set it up to collect money for a specific homeless guy.

[JI7]

30. i agree, but if their excuse was him using drugs they could still have used

the money for the same cause. might not be legal but they wouldn't be seen as shitty people.

[shanny]

31. Yep. It would appear they revealed theirs.

[Trust Buster]

29. Then why raise the money for the Manhattan all ? That excuse sounds a little to convenient

For me to believe.

[FakeNoose]

17. This isn't the whole story

Another post on DU today links to a story at the Philadelphia local NBC station website that gives more details.

link: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/400K-in-Donations-Missing-From-Homeless-Mans-GoFundMe-Lawyer-Says-492418391.html

A judge in New Jersey told the couple they have to account for the money and put the rest into an escrow account. The escrow account is to prevent the guy from blowing all the money on drugs, like he did with the first $25,000. The homeless man is apparently quite irresponsible, and he's already lost (or sold) the trailer home the couple bought for him. Some of the donation money was given to his family that he's not supporting. The escrow account has the remaining $150,000 but the couple can't give it all to the guy at one time.

[tammywammy]

19. They have put no money into an escrow account

On Tuesday, Bobbitt's lawyers asked that D'Amico, 39, and McClure, 28, be held in contempt of court because no money had been transferred from the couple's savings account, which is where they said they had deposited the GoFundMe money, into an escrow account set up by the law firm Cozen O'Connor.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/ohnny-bobbitt-jr-go-fund-me-kate-mcclure-mark-damico-money-gone-20180904.html

They said last week there was $150k, but their lawyer today is saying there's nothing left.

[LisaL]

20. You apparently don't understand that while the judge ordered them to deposit the rest of the

money into an account, they don't have money remaining that they could deposit, per the lawyer for the homeless guy. Read your own link that you posted.

[FakeNoose]

24. OK

I guess she was lying when she told Megyn Kelly that she still had at least $150,000 on August 27th. That was about a week ago, right?

During an appearance on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" show, D'Amico told Kelly there was well over $150,000 left of the donations.

[LisaL]

25. Well, clearly if they were saying they had $150,000 left and now per the lawyer there is nothing

left, something doesn't add up.

[mythology]

35. Adds up to them being lying scumbags

Maybe they started with the best intentions, maybe it ballooned past what they were expecting, maybe they got overwhelmed, but man did they screw this up.

[tammywammy]

28. They either lied to Megyn Kelly or to their lawyer

[Sherman A1]

26. Then they can jolly well

find it somewhere.

[pnwmom]

34. They can start by selling their new BMW and turning the proceeds over. n/t

[Sherman A1]

36. Agreed

They may not be able to recover all the money spent, but I am sure there are assets that can be liquidated to begin the process of restitution to the fund. Perhaps a house or some land, investments?

[shanny]

33. I don't get why anyone is focused on $150,000

that is or is not in escrow. They raised $400,000; paid him $25,000-ish...where's the rest?

[LisaL]

37. You got your numbers wrong.

He thinks he got $75,000 total. They claimed they spend $200,000 and also claimed they had $150,000 left.

[shanny]

39. Fine.

Then he got $75,000. There should be $325,000 left because they had no right to spend any of it.

Or are they claiming they spent/gave $200,000 in a few months to someone who can't handle money? I totally believe that.

[oberliner]

38. Are they any GoFundMe success stories?