Women raises $100,000 for homeless veteran who gave her his last $20


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A woman has raised nearly $110,000 (£80,000) for a homeless man who gave her his last $20 when she ran out of gas.

Kate McClure started the Gofundme campaign for Johnny Bobbit Jr who helped her out when she stopped on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.

Bobbit came to her rescue and walked a few blocks with her and bought the gas for her.

She didn’t have any money to repay him at the time but returned to the road several times to give him cash, clothes and food.

After a few visits, she started the fundraiser with the hopes of using the money toward housing and other expenses for the 34-year-old Bobbitt.

‘I wish that I could do more for this selfless man, who went out of his way just to help me that day,’ she wrote on the fundraising page. ‘Truly believe that all Johnny needs is one little break. Hopefully with your help I can be the one to give it to him.’

Donations have poured in, and the fundraiser has shattered its goal of raising $10,000 for Bobbitt. About 2,000 people had given to the campaign by Wednesday evening.

Here’s what she said on her fundraising page: ‘Driving into Philly one night, I made the mistake of thinking that I would be able to make it all the way down I- 95 with my gas light on.

‘Needless to say, I was wrong. I never ran out of gas before, and my heart was beating out of my chest. I pulled over as far as I could, and got out of the car to head to the nearest gas station.

‘That’s when I met Johnny. Johnny sits on the side of the road every day, holding a sign. He saw me pull over and knew something was wrong. He told me to get back in the car and lock the doors.

‘A few minutes later, he comes back with a red gas can. Using his last 20 dollars to make sure I could get home safe.

‘Johnny did not ask me for a dollar, and I couldn’t repay him at that moment because I didn’t have any cash, but I have been stopping by his spot for the past few weeks. I repaid him for the gas, gave him a jacket, gloves, a hat, and warm socks, and I give him a few dollars every time I see him.

‘I wish that I could do more for this selfless man, who went out of his way just to help me that day. He is such a great guy, and talking to him each time I see him makes me want to help him more and more.

‘One day I stopped to see him and had a few things in a bag to give him, one of which was a box of cereal bars so he could have something that he could carry around and eat. He was very appreciative as usual and the first thing he said was “do you want one?” Another time I dropped off 2 wawa gift cards and a case of water.. the first words that came out of his mouth were “I can’t wait to show the guys” (there are 2 others he hangs out with and they all take care of each other). If just those 2 statements alone do not give you a glimpse of the good heart this man has I’m not sure anything will.

‘I am raising money for Johnny. With the money, I would like to get him first and last month’s rent at an apartment, a reliable vehicle, and 4-6 months worth of expenses. He is very interested in finding a job, and I believe that with a place to be able to clean up every night and get a good night’s rest, his life can get back to being normal.

‘Truly believe that all Johnny needs is one little break. Hopefully with your help I can be the one to give it to him.

‘Please help this man get into a home. It is already getting so cold out in Philadelphia, and I can’t imagine what it will be like to be out there all winter. Any little bit will help.’

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Update: The amount raised as of 12:30 p.m. Friday was more than $300,000 from more than 11,000 donors, most of whom gave small amounts, ranging from $5 to $100. “Unreal,” Kate McClure said on her Facebook page.

Earlier story:

Kate McClure, 27, was driving into Philly on southbound I-95 last month to visit a friend when her car started sputtering. She pulled onto the nearest exit ramp and made it to the bottom just as she ran out of gas. It was 11 p.m. Dark. She was alone.

“My heart was beating out of my chest,” McClure said. “I didn’t know what the heck to do.” She called her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, 38, who said he’d come get her.

That’s when Johnny, a homeless man who often sits on the guard rail at the exit ramp, reading a book, depending on the kindness of strangers, appeared out of the night.

Johnny told her to lock her doors, sit tight, and he’d spend his last $20 to buy gas a few blocks away. “He said, ‘I’ll be back. Trust me,’ ” said McClure, who works for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

“Ten minutes later,” D’Amico said, “she called me and said the guy brought her gas.”

McClure had no cash to pay Johnny. She promised to come back and repay him. He trusted her as she had trusted him, and one random act of kindness soon inspired another.

The next day, the Florence couple drove by, thanked Johnny again, and repaid him. “We drove away and went on with our lives,” D’Amico said. But they kept returning, giving Johnny a few dollars each time, and talking for a few minutes.

They learned he is Johnny Bobbitt Jr., 34, from the Raleigh, N.C., area. He was an ammunition technician in the Marines. His Facebook page includes photos and posts that trace a romantic relationship from its happier days to its 2014 breakup.  He studied hard while training to be a paramedic and then worked long shifts, according to his Facebook posts, where a smiling Johnny stands tall in front of a medical rescue helicopter. In August 2014, Johnny posted that he aspired to be a flight nurse.

D’Amico, a building contractor, said one day they were talking about luck in people’s lives. “Johnny said, ‘Yeah, tell me about bad luck. But don’t get me wrong. I’m here because of my own decisions. I got nobody to blame but myself.’ ”

A friend in North Carolina who had been close to Johnny said he has a “good heart,” was a talented paramedic, and was smart enough to become a doctor. The friend, who did not want to be identified by name, said Johnny’s life took an unfortunate turn because of drugs, and eventually money problems. According to public records, he had involvement with the criminal justice system in North Carolina.

In perhaps a premonition of his future, Johnny posted in November 2014: “It’s never too late to turn it all around. Be honest with yourself and others.”

He’s been homeless in Philadelphia for a year and a half.

The Burlington County couple were struck by Johnny’s willingness to take responsibility for his situation, and by his caring attitude toward two homeless buddies he lives with under a bridge.

Recently, D’Amico texted McClure, “I can’t stop thinking about this guy. I think about him all the time.”

To his surprise, McClure texted back, “OMG! Me, too!”

D’Amico went through his old winter clothes and pulled out an Eagles hoodie, a black knit cap, and black insulated gloves. He and McClure went to a Target and bought a six-pack of tube socks, a bunch of granola bars, and basic toiletries. They put everything into a backpack and brought it to Johnny, along with a blanket and two $10 Wawa gift cards.

“He was very excited,” D’Amico said. “He shook my hand and he gave her a bear hug,” McClure said, “He said he’d go to Wawa right away and buy dinner. He loves the pepperoni hoagies.”

“And the pepperoni and cheese bagels,” D’Amico said.

McClure said Johnny made it clear that he would share their gifts with his two buddies. “They all look out for each other,” she said. “Mark and I got back in the car and we were like, ‘Man, if we could change this guy’s life.’ And that’s when we came up with the idea of GoFundMe.”

Their page has far exceeded their $10,000 goal. The couple made it clear that they would manage all the GoFundMe donations, using them to rent an apartment for Johnny and pay for his food, clothing, cellphone, and transportation, and giving him a small amount of cash for walking-around money.

“Johnny has reflected on his life,” D’Amico said. “He just needs a push in the right direction. I can’t imagine how hard it is. He’s from the Carolinas. He’s a thousand miles from home with nothing, nobody. Things probably snowballed to where he’s living under a bridge.”

McClure said Johnny told them he wants to live in Robbinsville, N.J., and work at the Amazon warehouse there because the company offers health benefits.

“He definitely has the drive,” D’Amico said. “He doesn’t want to be on the streets anymore. He wants to be a functioning member of society and not be sitting on a guard rail in Philadelphia.

“He knows where he’s at and he knows what he has to do to dig himself out,” D’Amico said. “It’s almost impossible to dig himself out if he has nobody and nothing. If we can raise enough money to set him up for a few months, where he doesn’t have to worry about where he’s going to sleep and what he’s going to eat, then he can get a job and go about his life.”

McClure said that maybe what they’re doing for Johnny is selfish in a way. “Just to see him react the way he does is such a good feeling,” she said. “I mean, it really feels good.”

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Stories like this are a great break from the normal stuff on the news (the stuff the media thrives on).
Great story - nice people helping someone in need.  I hope the guy makes the most of it and gets that job @ Amazon & becomes financially independent.  Having a job will do wonders for one's self-respect.

I know when I was without work for a few months I started to feel lousy, the day Microsoft made me an offer I was on cloud 9... still am as a matter of fact.

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Good deal.  Lot of money to get back on your feet an re-establish yourself.  Hopefully he puts it to good use and does not have any addictions to worry about.  Lots of factory/shop floor positions available that pay decent (above min wage) and do not require a lot of skill.

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13 minutes ago, techbeck said:

Good deal.  Lot of money to get back on your feet an re-establish yourself.  Hopefully he puts it to good use and does not have any addictions to worry about.  Lots of factory/shop floor positions available that pay decent (above min wage) and do not require a lot of skill.

I thought it was smart of the couple to manage the funds.  Giving $300,000 to an addict is just asking for trouble.   

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26 minutes ago, Shiranui said:

You mean there is actually more than one person in the US with the name Johnny Bobbit?

I immediately thought, "wait a second - losing your pecker causes you to go homeless ?  I KNEW IT !!  "

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  • 8 months later...

Update to this story:

Quote

Homeless again, Johnny Bobbitt can’t get his GoFundMe money

 

Johnny Bobbitt, famously rescued from the streets of Philadelphia last October after word of his kindness to a stranger went viral and led to a $400,000 GoFundMe campaign, is once again homeless, drug-addicted — and panhandling for money.

 

The couple who started the fund-raiser say that in helping Bobbitt, they've spent or given him more than half of the money donated by thousands of people around the world and they are withholding the roughly $200,000 balance. Bobbitt says he fears that the couple, Kate McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D'Amico, squandered much of the money. He worries there may be little, or nothing, left.

 

The once-warm relationship between Bobbitt and the couple has dissolved into acrimony and discord, and the dispute may be headed to court. GoFundMe officials and lawyers for Bobbitt are trying to determine whether the money was mismanaged.

 

//

 

In recent days, D'Amico told an evolving account of his stewardship of the money. Initially, he said he would not produce financial records because the money was put into an existing account at PNC bank that does not belong to Bobbitt. On Wednesday, he said he and McClure had opened up a separate account for Bobbitt. On Thursday morning he said he told a reporter the trusts had been set up because that's what Bobbitt wanted him to say.

 

D'Amico said they decided to sell the camper for $10,000 at Bobbitt's suggestion, along with the SUV, because Bobbitt wanted to use the money from the sale to move out of New Jersey.

 

Bobbitt said D'Amico refused to give him the money and told him he had to leave the Burlington County property.

 

As he sat under the bridge at Callowhill and Second, Bobbitt said panhandling for food and drugs is better than trying to squeeze money from McClure and D'Amico. Bobbitt kept an eye on his younger brother as he stood nearby on the median with a sign that read, "Homeless Hungry Anything Helps Thank You! God Bless!"

 

Full article at Philly.com

 

Not a happy ending for all those involved ... it appears.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Couple who raised $400G for homeless man ordered to testify

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/05/couple-who-raised-400g-for-homeless-man-ordered-to-testify.html

 

Apparently, the money from gofundme account is no longer there.    Looks like the people trying to help raise money for the homeless guy may have spent it.  Granted, the homeless guy had drug issues and I agree with not giving an addict money, but I do not agree with them spending it...if that is what really happened.

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It's all gone.

 

Quote

$400,000 Raised for Homeless Man on GoFundMe Is Completely Gone, Lawyer Says

 

Last year, a New Jersey couple raised $400,000 on GoFundMe to help a kind homeless man get his life back together. Now, the man’s attorney says all the money is gone and his client received only a fraction of the donations.

Last October, Johnny Bobbitt, Jr. came across Kate McClure while she sat in her vehicle on the side of a New Jersey interstate, having run out of fuel. Bobbitt told her to lock her doors, hang tight, and went to get her some gasoline. McClure said she was moved by his generosity, tracked him down, and set up a GoFundMe with a $10,000 goal intended to help Bobbitt find a place to live and buy a truck. After the story went viral, McClure appeared on many major television programs along with her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico. The couple urged the public to help this kind soul and eventually raised a little over $400,000. That’s enough money to change anyone’s life, but things went wrong over the ensuing months, and on Tuesday Bobbitt’s attorney told the press that a lawyer representing the couple said the money is all gone.

In August, Bobbitt told Philadelphia newspaper The Inquirer that he had only received a portion of the funds that were donated for him and that he feared the couple had mishandled the rest of what he was owed. He quickly retained pro-bono counsel and initiated a court proceeding accusing D’Amico and McClure of fraud and conspiracy to appropriate the money for their own personal use.

For a short time, the two parties traded accusations in the press and in court. As of today, those details are far less relevant. D’Amico claimed that Bobbitt has a substance abuse problem and that the couple was merely doing the responsible thing by giving him a little bit of money at a time. Bobbitt claimed that he’d received about $75,000, including the cost of an SUV and a camper he received. D’Amico’s story has changed over time, but in the course of a week, he alternately said that $150,000 and $200,000 was still left of the money. Last Thursday, a court ordered the remaining funds transferred into an escrow account controlled by Bobbitt’s attorneys by the following day.

On Tuesday, the case took the worst possible turn. Bobbitt’s attorney Chris Fallon said he was told the money is all gone.

https://gizmodo.com/400-000-raised-for-homeless-man-on-gofundme-is-complet-1828809507

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Nothing will come of this.

 

 

Odds are this whole thing was a giant scam.  They just got some homeless guy to play along, and then he found out how much they raised.

 

GoFundMe does not require that you give the money to who you say anyway. Buyer Beware.

 

GoFundMe is a scam itself.

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Quote

Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless Philadelphia ex-Marine, will get the money owed to him from a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $400,000 for him, his attorney Chris Fallon tells CNN.

 

"We reached an agreement today with GoFundMe and they have agreed to make sure he will be made whole," Fallon says.

 

In a statement, the company said it would back the money raised:

 

"...Our platform is backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee, which means that in the rare case that GoFundMe, law enforcement or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors and beneficiaries are protected."

Source: CNN

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  • 2 months later...

This is a story that just keeps on giving (in a bad way)

 

Quote

Homeless man and couple allegedly made up story for GoFundMe get rich quick scheme

 

MT. HOLLY, New Jersey - A story about a homeless man who spent his last $20 for a woman stranded when her car ran out of gas seemed too good to be true. Now a report suggests it was all a get rich quick scam.

Last year, a New Jersey couple started a GoFundMe account for Johnny Bobbitt, saying the stranger had given so generously to Kate McClure when she became stranded on I-95. The story gained nationwide attention, and the fundraising effort quickly grew to more than $400,000.

 

//

 

In the latest bombshell development, according to a new report authorities believe the entire tale was a ruse conceived by McClure, D'Amico and Bobbitt in a scheme to cash in.

All three are reportedly expected to be charged with conspiracy and theft by deception for working together to concoct the story.

 

/snip

 

ABC 13

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21 hours ago, Jim K said:

This is a story that just keeps on giving (in a bad way)

 

Yup...and all this does is hurt the people who really need help.  Makes people not want to give to causes/things like this.

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  • 1 month later...
Quote

GoFundMe Says Donors In Alleged Homeless Scam Refunded

 

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.

 

/snip

 

Huffington Post

 

Good on GoFundMe for refunding those that donated to this scam.

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  • 2 months later...
Quote

Homeless Veteran Johnny Bobbitt, Katelyn McClure Plead Guilty For Roles In $400,000 GoFundMe Scam

 

Homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt and Katelyn McClure pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court for their roles in a $400,000 GoFundMe scam. Katelyn McClure and her former boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, started the fundraising campaign in 2017 after claiming that Bobbitt gave McClure his last $20 to buy gas.

 

Bobbitt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, while McClure pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Bobbitt faces up to 10 years in prison, and McClure faces 20 years.

 

D’Amico has been charged with theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft by deception.

 

//

 

McClure’s sentencing is scheduled for June 19. Bobbitt’s sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

 

State charges are still pending against Bobbitt, McClure and D’Amico.

 

/snip

 

CBS Philly

 

Don't commit money laundering or wire fraud kids.

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