Homeless Philly Veteran Sentenced In $400K South Jersey GoFundMe Scam

BORDENTOWN, NJ — A homeless Philadelphia veteran who pleaded guilty to playing a role in a $400,000 GoFundMe scam with a South Jersey couple has been sentenced to probation, federal officials announced.

Johnny Bobbit Jr., 39, had already pleaded guilty to both state and federal charges in the case, which also involved a couple from Bordentown (Burlington County).

U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman sentenced Bobbitt to 36 months of probation on Monday, according to a a news release from U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger. Hillman also ordered Bobbitt to pay $25,000 in restitution.

Bobbitt was the stated beneficiary of a high-profile GoFundMe campaign called "Paying it Forward" that raised $400,000 for the veteran after he supposedly helped a Burlington County woman whose car broke down on I-95 back in 2017. The money was purportedly to get Bobbitt off the streets.

An ensuing investigation ended with Bobbitt, 32-year-old Kate McClure and 42-year-old Mark D'Amico being charged with conspiracy and theft by deception.

The trio's story gained national attention, swelling the amount in Bobbitt's GoFundMe account to more than $402,000 from more than 14,000 donors in less than 3 weeks, authorities said. More: Read The Unbelievable Text Messages Behind $400K GoFundMe Scam

"The majority of the money allegedly was quickly spent by D’Amico and McClure on personal expenses over the next three months, including significant amounts on D’Amico’s gambling, vacations, a BMW automobile, clothing, expensive handbags and other personal items and expenses," Sellinger said.

Things began to unravel in August 2018, when Bobbitt sued D'Amico and McClure on grounds that they were not giving him access to the money that was raised for him through the campaign, according to authorities.

But, investigators found that D'Amico and McClure had deposited $25,000 from the scheme into Bobbitt's account on December 2017, Sellinger said.

D’Amico was sentenced in August 2022 to five years in prison, concurrent with the 27 months he already received in April. Read more — $400K GoFundMe Hoaxer From Burlington Co. Sentenced

The April court date also resulted in D'Amico being ordered to pay nearly $402,000 in restitution, pay a $20,000 fine and undergo gambling, drug and mental health counseling, a U.S. District Court spokesperson said at the time the April sentence was handed down.

McClure was sentenced in July 2022 to one year and one day in prison, officials said. She also received three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution, according to authorities. McClure had previously pleaded guilty in federal court in March 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to authorities.