According to prosecutors, the trio made up a tale in late 2017 about Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless veteran, giving Katelyn McClure, a D’Amico’s then-girlfriend, $20 when her car ran out of gas in Philly. D’Amico and McClure collected funds through GoFundMe to allegedly assist Bobbitt. Investigators said D’Amico was the plot’s ringleader.

They eventually received more than $400,000 in donations in about a month, despite the fact that nearly no portion of the story was accurate, investigators said.

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Authorities began looking into the case after Bobbitt sued the couple, accusing them of not giving him the money collected.

Instead, McClure and D’Amico spent the majority of the money raised by March 2018, including considerable sums on a recreational vehicle, a BMW, and trips to casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey.

McClure and Bobbitt pleaded guilty to state and federal counts in the past. In 2019, Bobbitt received a five-year probation sentence on state offenses. Both are due to be sentenced this year on federal charges.

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Mark D’Amico pleaded guilty in state Superior Court in Burlington County, New Jersey to misapplication of entrusted property.

Bobbitt and McClure pleaded guilty to federal and state crimes. The authorities have claimed that D’Amico was the leader and that he had made up the story.

Authorities said McClure and D’Amico made up a story about Bobbitt giving McClure his last $20 for gas when her car broke down in Philadelphia.

A GoFundMe campaign titled “Paying it Forward” raised more than $400,000 from 14,000 donors who wanted to help Bobbitt, but authorities have said most of the money was wasted by the couple.

D´Amico, Bobbit and McClure did newspaper and television interviews, posed for photos, revisited the spot where they claimed their first encounter happened.

When Bobbitt publicly accused the couple of taking his share of the money the plan began to fail. Then, authorities began investigating after Bobbitt sued the couple for allegedly not giving him the money.

According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the donations were transferred to the couple accounts. The money, according to what officials said, was spent on D’Amico’s gambling addiction, vacations, a BMW, clothes and similar expenditures.

After cluing Bobbitt in on the GoFundMe campaign, the couple deposited $25,000 into an account set up for him, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Bobbitt, who also pled guilty to his role in the scam, was sentenced to a drug court and five years of probation in the state Superior Court in Burlington County.

In May D´Amico was indictedon state charges including theft by deception and misapplication of entrusted property, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

GoFundMe has already returned the money to all donors.

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