Lawyer Expects NJ Couple Will Be Indicted For Taking Donations From Homeless Vet

via <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/hvv4r-paying-it-forward" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a>

Last week, a New Jersey couple who raised over $400,000 for a homeless vet were unable to turn over the remaining money to the man despite a judge's orders, because their lawyer said all the money was gone. Now, their lawyer says he expects the couple will be indicted for misusing the donations this week.

Ernest Badway, who has been representing Mark D'Amico and Katelyn McClure in the civil case brought by homeless vet Johnny Bobbitt Jr., also said that he and his firm would no longer represent the couple in the lawsuit. "[Since] it is expected that one or both of the defendants will likely be indicted, my firm and I will no longer be able to continue our representation of them in this matter," Badway wrote while petitioning the court to pause the civil case, which has now been postponed until December 7th.

Bobbit first encountered McClure in Philadelphia last October. Bobbitt, who at the time was living under an I-95 ramp in Kensington, gave his last $20 to her when she ran out of gas. McClure and D’Amico were so moved by the gesture, they set up a GoFundMe so that "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." Although it was set at $10,000, they ended up raising over $400K thanks to donations from over 14,000 people.

But Bobbitt, who is still panhandling, recently filed a lawsuit in New Jersey stating he never saw most of that money and that the couple kept it for themselves to "enjoy a lifestyle they could not afford." One of his attorneys told CNN, "From what I can see, the GoFundMe account raised $402,000 and GoFundMe charged a fee of approximately $30,000. Mark D'Amico and Kate McClure gave Johnny about $75,000. There should be close to another $300,000 available to Johnny."

While defending themselves on Megyn Kelly's show, the couple noted that only around $150,000 of the money was left. The judge ordered the couple to hand over the remaining funds by September 3rd so it could be placed in a trust for Bobbitt, but the weekend came and went with no money. Then Bobbitt's lawyer heard that there was no money to be had: "It com­plete­ly shocked me when I heard,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“They started to spend money right” after depositing the online donations, said lawyer Jacqueline Promislo. "They went on shopping sprees. [Bobbitt] tells me they had a Louis Vuitton bag and Chanel sunglasses, a new iPhone 10...I know they spent a lot of money," she said, adding that Bobbitt told her the pair also amassed a collection of pricey Nike shoes. "Until we have a forensic accountant go through it, I can’t say that they spent his money. But now that they say there is no money, where did it go?"

McClure, a receptionist, and D’Amico, a carpenter, did buy Bobbitt a trailer and a used truck, Promislo added, but they never gave him the key to the truck, which she claims they ended up driving until it broke down. Both the trailer and truck, which were bought in their names, have since been sold by the couple.

Bobbitt believes the couple spent the money on vacations (to Flori­da, Cali­for­nia and Las Vegas), gambling and a new BMW which police confiscated last week during a search of their home. Badway said in his letter that all the couple's personal and business financial statements, along with jewelry and cash, were also seized in the raid last week.

Bobbitt, who has admitted to struggling with drug addiction and has been in and out of rehab since his encounter with McClure, entered an inpatient rehab program on Friday. Promislo, who called Bobbitt “sweet," also said he spoke highly of McClure: "I said, 'You were also given very little money when you were living in a trailer in her driveway,'" she said. "But he likes her! He wasn’t actually going to pursue this — it’s just not in his nature."