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$400,000 raised for US homeless man is all gone, lawyer says

More than US$400,000 raised on a GoFundMe page for a homeless man in the US is now gone, his lawyer says.

Johnny Bobbitt Jr., left, Kate McClure, right, and McClure's boyfriend Mark D'Amico pose at a CITGO station in Philadelphia.
Johnny Bobbitt Jr., left, Kate McClure, right, and McClure's boyfriend Mark D'Amico pose at a CITGO station in Philadelphia. Source: AAP

The lawyer for a Philadelphia homeless man whose kindness resulted in the creation of a fundraising page says all of the donated money is gone.

Chris Fallon, the lawyer representing homeless man Johnny Bobbitt, said he learned of the missing money in a call with the lawyers representing Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico - the couple accused of mismanaging the money raised for Mr Bobbitt.

This photo taken Aug. 15, 2018, shows Johnny Bobbitt
This photo taken Aug. 15, 2018, shows Johnny Bobbitt Source: AAP

Ms McClure created the GoFundMe page for the US defence force veteran in November after he used his last $20 to purchase petrol for her car when she was stranded on the freeway.

The page raised more than US$400,000 (A$556,000) from more than 14,000 people.

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Mr Bobbitt brought a lawsuit to Ms McClure and Mr D'Amico, accusing them of mismanaging the donations.

The couple has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Mr D'Amico told the Philadelphia Inquirer he only spent $500 of the donations to gamble but repaid the loan with his winnings.

Johnny Bobbitt used his last $20 to fill up the petrol tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia
Johnny Bobbitt used his last $20 to fill up the petrol tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia Source: David Swanson / AP

He also said Mr Bobbitt in December spent $25,000 in less than two weeks on drugs, in addition to paying overdue legal bills and sending money to his family.

The couple also said they bought Mr Bobbitt a camper van with some of the funds and parked it on land Ms McClure’s family owned in New Jersey.

But Mr Bobbitt became homeless again after Mr D’Amico told him in June he had to leave the property.

The couple told NBC there was still over $150,000 left in donations.

The New Jersey judge in the case ordered the couple to transfer the money into an escrow account by Friday and hire an accountant to review financial records within 10 days.

The money was expected to be transferred to an account controlled by Mr Bobbitt’s lawyers but can’t be used until the judge determines how it will be managed.


2 min read

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Source: SBS News



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