Woman rescued by homeless man who gave his last $30, raises $570k for him in return. Source: CBS Philly
A couple accused of stealing some of the US$400,000 the public raised for a homeless man insist they were simply trying to stop him wasting it all on drugs.
Johnny Bobbitt, 35, made headlines around the world in November after he used his last money on gas for New Jersey woman Kate McClure.
McClure and her boyfriend Mark D'Amico set up GoFundMe page dedicated to changing Bobbitt's life and it attracted hundreds of thousands of donations. But nine months on, the couple admit just over US$150,000 of US$400,000 raised remains, according to the Daily Mail.
Bobbitt believes the couple began wanting to help him but that they got carried away with the amount of money raised. Photo / GoFundMe
During an appearance on the Megyn Kelly Today show Monday, they explained that they had initially put the money in their own bank account temporarily because Bobbitt didn't have one of his own - and had no ID or documentation to get one.
"We worked to get him all those things. That's takes so much time," McClure said.
Meanwhile, the couple used the funds to buy Bobbitt a trailer, that he picked out, after he told them he didn't want a house.
"His dream - one of the first conversations I had with him was what he wanted," said D'Amico.
"You can do anything you want in the world. You won the lottery, basically. I asked him what his dream was, he said to end up in Alaska in a travel trailer and living off the land, fishing and hunting. I said, let's do it."
They even allowed him to keep the trailer on the McClure property while they sorted out his paperwork, and he'd used their home to shower, and would walk in whenever he liked.
Eventually, the documents came through and they set up a bank account for Bobbitt, but by this time, D'Amico said they'd started to notice some "red flags".
The biggest warning sign came after Christmas, when the couple say they deposited US$25,000 into Bobbitt's account.
The couple say they paid for their trips, her new BMW and his casino trips with their salaries. He is a carpenter and she is a receptionist for the state department of transportation. Photo / Facebook
The money disappeared within 13 days - spent almost exclusively on drugs, D'Amico told Kelly.
"We saw the pattern developing. Every dollar he ever touched was used for drugs," D'Amico said.
McClure said they tried to get Bobbitt to go to a rehab program but when he refused, they were worried to hand over the rest of the cash because they feared "he was going to do something foolish and end up right back where he was."
"I wanted to make sure at the end of the day when he was ready he had something left."
D'Amico says that just US$150,000 remains of the initial US$400,000.
"He spent a lot of money," he said of Bobbitt.
D'Amico explained that after GoFundMe took its cut, they were left with around US$350,000 and that the US$200,000 had been spent on his trailer, legal fees and court costs ,the hotel Bobbitt stayed in beforehand, an SUV, TV, laptop, two cell phones, and sending his parents money.
In January, the couple went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon where they enjoyed a $500 per person helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. McClure said it was a gift from D'Amico. Photo / Facebook
"Also his brother came into the picture and was living opposite our property, who is also an addict," D'Amico said, adding that the rest, including the US$25,000 he cycled through in 13 days, went on drugs.
Yet the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the couple have since sold the camper for just US$10,000, as well as the SUV, because Bobbitt wanted to use the money from the sale to move out of New Jersey. He claims he has received no money from the sale.
Meanwhile Bobbitt has accused the couple of embezzling his money for their own means - and splashing the cash on vacations and a new car - something they adamantly deny.
Although D'Amico does admit he used US$500 of the donations to gamble at a casino, he insists that Bobbitt was with him and it was with his full permission.
D'Amico and McClure say they are in the process of setting up an independent trust for the remaining funds for Bobbitt and say they are happy to have a forensic account go through their spending to prove they haven't spent any of the funds themselves.
But it's been tough for the pair who say they just wanted to do something nice for the homeless man who touched them with his kindness.
Bobbitt before he became homeless. Photo / GoFundMe
McClure broke down in tears as she described receiving death threats from people who assumed they'd stolen Bobbitt's cash.
"It's so hard to deal with, because people are getting one side of the story, and receiving death threats and threats to burn my house down and threats against my family and everything like that is so hard to deal with when we know that we did a good thing,' she said.
"I still believe that we did a good thing, and I would do it all over again.I would do it all over again for him."
Meanwhile, Bobbitts is back on the streets after the couple reportedly sold his trailer and asked him to leave McClure's land, claiming he had stolen from them.
They've also sold the SUV but Bobbitt has not received a penny from the sales.
GoFundMe is now working with a team of lawyers who have agreed to work pro-bono for Bobbitt to determine whether the money has been mismanaged.
They rang in the New Year at a James Bond themed party at the Delano hotel. General admission for the event was $195 per person but tables for two cost up to $2,400. Photo / Facebook
"Giving him all that money, it's never going to happen. I'll burn it in front of him," D'Amico said bluntly in a recent interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the meantime, the couple have enjoyed trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and McClure has purchased a new BMW. They insist they used their salaries.
He is a carpenter and she works as a receptionist for the state department of transportation. They both say they took "" time off from work to help Bobbitt and they have not explained how they funded their lives during that hiatus.
In April, they took Bobbitt to New York City from New Jersey. They were pictured there together smiling happily for photographs.
Bobbitt says he feels betrayed by the pair and thinks their greed got the better of them once the money started pouring in.
Nearly 15,000 people donated $402,000 to get Bobbitt off the street after he used his last $20 to buy McClure gas in Philadelphia. Photo / GoFundMe
"I think it might have been good intentions in the beginning, but with that amount of money, I think it became greed," he said.
Homeless advocates have enrolled him in two rehab programs to try to rid him of his opioid addiction. He spends US$15 a day on drugs and is living beneath a bridge.
When contacted by DailyMail.com on Friday morning, McClure did not immediately respond.
She told The Philly Inquirer she did not want to lose her job over the dispute.
GoFundMe spokesman Bartlett Jackson said the company was investigating the disagreement.
This is the couple's original plea for donations on GoFundMe. They labelled the page "pay it forward". Photo / Supplied
"When there is a dispute, we work with all parties involved to ensure funds go to the right place. We will work to ensure that Johnny receives the help he deserves and that the donors' intentions are honoured," he said.
Nearly 15,000 people donated to the page. It is no longer accepting donations.
In her last update on it, McClure wrote: "Now lets get down to some business. We've received a lot of comments and questions about what Johnny's plans are for this money and how it will be used.
"Hopefully this will answer them while keeping his privacy and the privacy of the people he is helping also.
"The first thing on the list is a NEW Home which Johnny will own!! He will never have to worry about a roof over his head again!! Second will be the dream truck he's always wanted... a 1999 ford ranger (yes I'm serious).
"There will also be 2 trusts set up in his name, one essentially giving him the ability to collect a small "salary" each year and another retirement trust which will be wisely invested by a financial planner which he will have access to in a time frame he feels comfortable with so when the time comes he can live his retirement dream of owning a piece of land and a cabin in the country.
Johnny Bobbitt, (left), is back living on the street nine months after Mark D'Amico and Kate McClure raised $400,000 for him through a GoFundMe page because they have spent half the money. Photo / AP
"A bank account will be set up for him with funds for every day needs that will get him through until he finds a job. And lastly, he will be donating to a few organizations and people who over the last couple of years have helped him get through this rough patch in his life.
"This is a well thought out plan that Johnny his lawyer and financial advisor came up with in order to give Johnny the means to acclimate back into a "normal" life and also to protect him and ensure he has a bright future."
Bobbitt said he was never given a lawyer and met once with a financial adviser.
