The story of the New Jersey couple who set up a seemingly fake GoFundMe to help out a homeless man has taken yet another turn.
The pair, Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure, and the man they claimed to want to help, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., have now all been charged with second-degree conspiracy and theft by deception, The New York Times reported. They each face five to 10 years in prison if found guilty prosecutor, Scott A. Coffina, said.
“The entire campaign was predicated on a lie,” Coffina said at a Thursday news conference. “They conspired to pass off a fake feel-good story that would compel donors to contribute to their cause; it worked in a very big way but it was fictitious and illegal.”
The alleged scheme was realized by authorities who poured over 60,000 of the couple’s text messages. Within them, McClure sent a text message to a friend admitting that the entire story was untrue.
“OK, so wait, the gas part is completely made up but the guy isn’t,” read a text sent by McClure. “I had to make something up so people will feel bad.”
The GoFundMe campaign D’Amico and McClure set up to “help” Bobbitt, a veteran, went viral and raised over $400,000. Over $100,000 of that money was spent by the couple in and around casinos, Coffina said, and a car, jewelry and luxury handbags were seized from their home.
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