Mark D’Amico & Kate McClure NJ Couple in $400,000 GoFundMe Scandal

Mark D’Amico & Kate McClure

Mark D’Amico & Kate McClure are being accused of fabricating a bogus story in order to raise money for themselves.

Mark D’Amico and girlfriend, Kate McClure will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, after they set up a fake GoFundMe page for a homeless man who they said helped them with their car.

D’Amico and McClure grabbed headlines last year. The two initially claimed a homeless guy, Johnny Bobbitt –gave $20 to help the couple whose car had ran out of gas on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. McClure and D’Amico –‘wanting to return the favor’ launched a GoFundMe page to supposedly raise money for homeless, Bobbitt. The page proved to be a hit when it brought in over $400,000 from 14,000 contributors.

At first, the account led to appearances for Bobbitt and McClure on national TV programs. But it quickly turned into a dispute between the couple and Bobbitt about the money spending.

While the couple accused Bobbitt on flushing 25K on drugs, Bobbitt said Mark D’Amico & Kate McClure dipped into the funds and used them as a “personal piggy bank.” Bobbitt even lawyered up and sued the two over mismanagement of the funds.

Now the three of them are being accused of conspiring together to concoct the “fictitious story” in order to get money from generous donors by deceiving them. Prosecutors are positive the three of them are together in the whole thing and said they even prevented donors from acquiring information that would affect their judgment about the campaign.

D’Amico and McClure surrendered to authorities on Wednesday. The two had been under investigation since the summer.

39-year-old Mark D’Amico and 28-year-old Kate McClure are both of Florence Township, New Jersey. Kate is a receptionist at the NJ Dept of Transportation. Mark works as a carpenter. The couple claimed they bought a new BMW, made multiple trips to California and Las Vegas and even took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon –only from their salaries.

Check out Kate McClure on Twitter here.