GoFundMe says donors refunded in alleged scam involving N.J. couple, homeless veteran

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) — GoFundMe says it has refunded everyone who contributed to a campaign involving a homeless veteran from Philadelphia who prosecutors allege schemed with a New Jersey couple to scam donors out of more than $400,000.

GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne said Tuesday that "all donors who contributed to this GoFundMe campaign have been fully refunded" and the organization is cooperating fully with law enforcement.

Burlington County prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint that Johnny Bobbitt conspired with Katelyn McClure and her boyfriend at the time, Mark D'Amico, to concoct a feel-good story about Bobbitt giving McClure his last $20 when her car ran out of gas. They raised $400,000, which authorities say was spent on luxury items and casino trips.

Whithorne said campaigns involving misuse "make up less than one tenth of one percent" of all GoFundMe campaigns, but such behavior "is unacceptable" and "has consequences."


This November 2018 file combination of photos provided by the Burlington County Prosecutors office shows Johnny Bobbitt, left, Katelyn McClure and Mark D'Amico. On Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018, GoFundMe says it has made refunds to everyone who contributed to a campaign involving homeless veteran Bobbitt who prosecutors allege schemed with a New Jersey couple, McClure and D'Amico, to scam donors out of $400,000.

BURLINGTON COUNTY PROSECUTORS OFFICE VIA AP, FILE

Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/trending/gofundme-says-donors-refunded-in-alleged-scam-involving-n-j/article_a5022ba5-328d-5038-88e1-d8ecb33286cb.html

[jberryhill]

1. I wonder where Gofundme got the money to do that?

[William Seger]

3. Yeah, I don't know how they stay in business

They only keep 5% of everything they collect.

[jberryhill]

4. But, ultimately, what was "fraudulent" about this?

Was the guy homeless? Yep.

Did they give him a place to live? Yep.

At the end of the day, the campaign removed a homeless guy from the street. Now, he's going to jail because the story wasn't true in all particulars.

There are a LOT of homeless people. Is the idea here that if one of them hits "the compelling story jackpot" then all of his/her dreams come true, and the rest of them remain homeless?

You want to see people getting rich off of the charity of others? Check out the executive suite at the American Red Cross, Goodwill, or countless others.

[KWR65]

5. Hmm

Goodwill provides jobs to homeless, disabled and others.
American Red Cross has blood banks, emergency shelters and food for disasters.
You can't expect them to all live in two man tents while running a charity.

[jberryhill]

6. Mark Curran makes 2.8 Million per year

The American Red Cross blood bank business is for-profit. That's not even the non-profit end of it.

[jberryhill]

8. Read, learn

https://www.propublica.org/article/red-cross-ceo-has-been-misleading-about-donations

Most of what the Red Cross does is take donated blood and sell it to health care providers. Of the more than $3 billion that the Red Cross spent last year, two-thirds was spent not on disaster relief but rather on the group's blood business.

The charity spent $2.2 billion on the blood business, most of which went to employee wages and benefits. By contrast, the charity spent $467 million, or 14 percent of total spending, on its famous domestic disaster response programs, including the expensive Sandy relief effort.

[Javaman]

2. huh, so this is what Tom Sizemore is up to these days. nt

[Just a Weirdo]

7. Kolfage is next

GFM should keep the 8% cut and refund the rest