homeless guy using his last $20 to buy gas for woman - elaborate ruse by all three

[Demovictory9]

https://nypost.com/2018/11/15/homeless-vet-couple-at-center-of-gofundme-controversy-allegedly-made-up-story-report/

Prosecutors believe that Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure conspired with homeless man Johnny Bobbitt to create their get-rich-quick scheme in 2017, NBC’s Philadelphia affiliate reported Wednesday.

The couple turned themselves in to authorities on Wednesday, but Bobbitt was still at large, the news station said.

According a source who spoke to the news outlet, which said it had a copy of a criminal complaint, all three are expected to face charges of conspiracy and theft by deception for working together to create the ruse. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s office is expected to make an announcement in the case Thursday, according to multiple reports.

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McClure, 28, and D’Amico, 39, created a GoFundMe page in November 2017, claiming the homeless, drug addict Bobbitt spent his last $20 to fill up McClure’s empty gas tank after her car broke down on I-95 near Philadelphia.

The charity campaign exploded, raising tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting donors in a matter of days — and ultimately shooting up to more than $400,000.

[PatSeg]

1. Whoa!

What a rotten scheme.

[Hortensis]

2. I once broke down in downtown L.A., but not a nice part,

and an obviously long-term homeless man (guessing alcohol and/or drugs) came to my rescue. It was very hot that day, and of course I broke down in full sun with heat shimmering off the abandoned parking lot I'd rolled into, but he tinkered with my car until he got it running. Just being a nice guy, and I'm pretty sure glad to be able to help someone.

[Dorian Gray]

8. Aw.

I'm happy to read an alternative happy ending story here. Somebody doing something nice for someone without any expectations.

[Hortensis]

14. :) Yes. Happens a lot, of course.

[Loki Liesmith]

3. Did not see this coming

[LisaL]

4. Neither did I.

[Demovictory9]

5. me either. I didn't participate in this particular gofundme but have contributed to others

could have easily given a donation to this one. Never dreamed it was faked

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. hello, i am nigerian prince you help me

Y'all need to attend some fundamentalist revivals or just watch some teevee preachers crying for money.

Or just adhere to the time-worn advice: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[LisaL]

11. The original story didn't sound too good to be true.

In fact somebody on the thread shared a similar story that happened to them, about being helped by homeless man when their car broke down.

[Volaris]

21. Yes, but that guy didn't ask anyone else for money.

[Volaris]

20. I was just going to say lol

So these people are in trouble for posting something on the internet that wasn't true, and other people didn't bother to check and then gave them money .

It maybe should be, but last I checked being rock-stupid wasn't a crime u can get somebody ELSE in trouble for...

[Hermit-The-Prog]

24. OP says: "charges of conspiracy and theft by deception"

[Volaris]

25. I guess running a con on the web is the same as running one otherwise ...

But isn't that EXACTLY what a gofundme page IS lol?, except now the fools get to decide which way they want their money to go when they part with it?

Seems like since u can set up a gofundme for anything you want , there aren't a lot of limits on WHY you're asking for the money...

[Dorian Gray]

6. They all worked together

to scam people?

1) If Bobbitt was truly homeless and addicted to drugs, I believe he was used and has less culpability.

and

2) This is why these go fund me campaigns make me nervous. Unless it's for someone I know personally, I don't give to them. I hate that people are not trustworthy... but people are not trustworthy.

and

3) Scammers scammed each other. Shocking.

[Kaleva]

7. The scheme probably was doomed to failure from the git-go.

The couple would, maybe, have had a better chance of success had they found a homeless person who wasn't a drug addict.

[LisaL]

10. How did they actually find him?

[Kaleva]

29. Craigslist?

Wanted: Trustworthy, homeless veteran who is addicted to drugs and lives under a bridge to join us in a quick rich scheme defrauding people of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[Iggo]

28. Actually, it would have worked if they hadn't stiffed him.

Unless that was bullshit, too.

Where this story is concerned, I don't actually really know what I'm talking about anymore.

I'll just be over here...

[Tipperary]

12. This is why I never trust Gofundme campaigns

unless I know the person involved. Still astounded that Bode Miller had one when his kid died. Smh.

[jberryhill]

13. Lol

Well that ties together a number of loose ends here that never quite matched up.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Isn't There A New One, Though?

I thought there was a lawsuit over recovering the funds by somebody representing Bobbitt.

If one was part of the scam, why would one sue?

[jberryhill]

16. He's not the sharpest needle on the cactus

I'm thinking the legal maneuverings could have been Act II.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Well Then, That's Triple Stupid

Or quadruple.

[fescuerescue]

17. I'm going to guess it was all filmed on youtube

as something "spontaneous" and then "someone" started a gofund based on the "viral" video.

It always amazes me how people can't spot these "spontaneous" videos as fakes.

[LisaL]

26. No need to guess.

The history of it is well known. It wasn't filled on youtube.

[fescuerescue]

27. I guess this particular scam missed me

But I tend to ignore this kinda stuff

[Catherine Vincent]

19. I can only laugh at this

Shameful humans!

[Polybius]

22. It was obviously a scheme the moment it took place

A homeless addict spending his last $20 on a stranger's gas? Yeah ok.

[Calculating]

23. Exactly why I don't trust GoFundMe

I remember being skeptical of this when the story initially came out, and everyone bashed me. Apparently I was just envious of the money and had no heart . Well, all I can say now is "told ya so".

[Codeine]

30. My inherent cynicism rarely lets me down.

Humans are scum.