US couple allegedly spent GoFundMe money raised for homeless man
A US couple who set up a GoFundMe for homeless man Johnny Bobbitt who gave them his last US$20 (AU$27.30) has allegedly spent the money raised for him. Bobbitt, 35, has claimed Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico stole the donations instead of giving them to him.
In November, Bobbitt’s story became viral when he gave his last US$20 to help a stranded motorist, McClure, who ran out of gas in a dicey neighbourhood in Philadelphia. Out of gratitude, McClure and D’Amico set up a GoFundMe account for him.
“He will never have to worry about a roof over his head again!!” they had promised on the crowdfunding platform. Bobbitt’s heroism touched the hearts of thousands of people after his story was featured on several programs, including from the US ABC’s “Good Morning America” and others. More than 14,000 people made donations for Bobbitt, raising about US$400,000 (AU$546,000).
But little has changed for Bobbitt since then. He is back to living under a bridge and still begging people for loose change after he was kicked out in June from a camper the couple bought him. He claimed that the couple has refused to give him the money.
McClure and D’Amico have insisted, however, that they have spent half of the money on housing and other expenses for Bobbitt, but they were holding the rest until he’s off drugs. They told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the homeless man once spent US$25,000 (AU$34,130) in under two weeks.
“Giving him all that money, it’s never going to happen. I’ll burn it in front of him,” D’Amico told the paper, saying with the hobo’s opioid addiction, it would be like giving Bobbitt “a loaded gun.”
However, Bobbitt said that the couple’s lifestyle has changed since. McClure, a reception for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, is the owner of a new BMW. She and D’Amico, a carpenter, have apparently been posting to Facebook and Instagram photos of their lavish-looking vacations.
“I think it might have been good intentions in the beginning, but with that amount of money, I think it became greed,” Bobbitt told the Inquirer.
A representative for GoFundMe said that it was investigating the claims of both parties.
