It Was All A Scam! Homeless Veteran, Couple Bilked Hundreds Of Thousands From Donors

Initially, Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure claimed they got to know Johnny Bobbitt Jr — a homeless Marine veteran,— after he gave Ms McClure his last $20 when her car ran out of gas on the side of a freeway ramp in Philadelphia. The couple then created a fundraiser to repay the man for his warm gesture, eventually accruing donations from more than 14,000 people and surpassing over $400,000 in total.Show more

But it was all a “fictitious story,” according to a complaint obtained by NBC Philadelphia, which said the three concocted the ruse and deceived thousands of genuinely generous people across the globe. All three are currently facing charges for withholding critical information to donors and “failing to correct their story,” the complaint read.

Mr D’Amico and Ms McClure reportedly turned themselves into authorities this week and their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment, NBC reported.

It remained unclear as of Thursday morning whether Mr Bobbit Jr had turned himself in as well.