Every penny of the $400,000 raised by strangers to give a kind homeless veteran a new start after he spent his final $20 to buy a stranded woman gas has been spent by her and her boyfriend, according to the man's lawyer.
In a devastating outcome for Johnny Bobbitt after what seemed like an end to his strife with the couple, he and his lawyer discovered the fund was depleted on Tuesday after finally winning control of it nine months after it was set up to help him.
'There is no money left. Where the money went, I have no idea,' Bobbitt's lawyer Christopher C. Fallon Jr. told nj.com on Tuesday, adding Bobbitt was 'completely devastated' by the discovery.
It comes less than a week after Kate McLure and Mark D'Amico, the couple who set it up then withheld it from him, went on national television to claim there was still 'well over' $150,000 left.
They insist that they have not spent the money on themselves and that they spent $200,000 on care for Bobbitt. Whatever cash they did give him, they say he spent it on drugs.
Johnny Bobbitt, the homeless veteran who strangers donated $400,000 to last year, has learned there is nothing left of the money which was controlled by a couple who set up a GoFundMe page for him
After Bobbitt shared his story earlier this month, GoFundMe launched an investigation into the couple's handling of the fund.
It seemed Bobbitt had triumphed when a judge earlier this week ordered the couple to give him control of the account.
Now, Bobbitt and his lawyers have asked for a forensic accountant to examine the couple's records and determine if they misspent any of the money.
They met in November last year when McClure, a receptionist for the state department of transportation, ran out of gas in Philadelphia on her way home.
Bobbitt was sleeping in the street and he used his last $20 to buy her gas and get home safely.
She shared his good deed on social media and launched a GoFundMe page in the hope that strangers would return his kindness.
Within a month they had raised $400,000 for him and he was excitedly planning a new life. There were promises of trusts and retirement accounts, financial adviser and lawyers but Bobbitt now says none of what the pair told him he would receive panned out as planned.
Bobbitt, 35, met Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico last year after spending his last $20 buying her gas
Nearly 15,000 people donated $402,000 to get Bobbitt off the street after he used his last $20 to buy McClure gas in Philadelphia
Instead of turning over the money to him, they maintained control of it and only once gave him a lump of cash.
Rather than buy him a house, they bought him a trailer which was then kept on land owned by McLure's family. He did not get the pickup truck of his dreams and instead was given a second hand SUV which they have since sold.
McLure and D'Amico insist that he wanted the trailer and car and that when he blew through $25,000, allegedly on drugs, in just 13 days, they decided he could not be trusted with the rest of the money.
They say that an additional $30,000-$40,000 was eaten up by GoFundMe's fees and that another $135,000 were spent on lawyers, the trailer, an SUV, TVs, a laptop, a cell phone and a hotel where Bobbitt stayed when he first got off the street.
It is not clear what lawyers services were given before they fell into dispute.
During an interview with Megyn Kelly last week, they said they spent $200,000 on him in total and that $150,000 was left.
In that interview, D'Amico said GoFundMe took $50,000.
They insisted that they had done nothing wrong and had not spent a single dollar on themselves.
When asked for an exact figure of how much was left, they said they could not give one because the money was still being held in the account they used for themselves.
During an appearance on the Megyn Kelly Today show last Monday, McClure and her boyfriend said there was still 'well over $150,000 in the account'
McClure became emotional as she described receiving death threats from people claiming they had misspent the money on trips and shopping sprees.
Since they met Bobbitt, they went on luxurious trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They also got a new car but say they paid for it with their salaries.
Bobbitt is back living on the streets. He is taking drugs again. His attorneys agreed to work for him for free.
In his response to Bobbitt's claims earlier this month, D'Amico told The Philadelphia Inquirer: 'Giving him all that money, it's never going to happen. I'll burn it in front of him.'
In April, they took Bobbitt to New York City from New Jersey. They were pictured there together smiling happily for photographs.
D'Amico has been arrested on traffic violations and he has also frequented casinos, once dipping into the GoFundMe money to take $500 which he claims he replaced afterwards.
In January, the couple went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon where they enjoyed a $500 per person helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. McClure said it was a gift from D'Amico
They rang in the New Year at a James Bond themed party at the Delano hotel. General admission for the event was $195 per person but tables for two cost up to $2,400
McClure also took her mother on a trip to Los Angeles where they were collected by a limousine at the airport
The couple say they paid for their trips, her new BMW and his casino trips with their salaries. He is a carpenter and she is a receptionist for the state department of transportation
In April, they took Bobbitt to New York City for the first time. It is 80 miles from their home in New Jersey
Bobbitt is shown (left) before he became homeless and (right) after making the news for helping McClure. He said he believes the couple began wanting to help him but that they got carried away with the amount of money raised
In her final upload to the page, McClure said: 'Hopefully this will answer them while keeping his privacy and the privacy of the people he is helping also.
'The first thing on the list is a NEW Home which Johnny will own!! He will never have to worry about a roof over his head again!! Second will be the dream truck he's always wanted... a 1999 ford ranger (yes I'm serious).
'There will also be 2 trusts set up in his name, one essentially giving him the ability to collect a small "salary" each year and another retirement trust which will be wisely invested by a financial planner which he will have access to in a time frame he feels comfortable with so when the time comes he can live his retirement dream of owning a piece of land and a cabin in the country.
'A bank account will be set up for him with funds for every day needs that will get him through until he finds a job. And lastly, he will be donating to a few organizations and people who over the last couple of years have helped him get through this rough patch in his life.
'This is a well thought out plan that Johnny his lawyer and financial advisor came up with in order to give Johnny the means to acclimate back into a "normal" life and also to protect him and ensure he has a bright future.'
Bobbitt said he was never given a lawyer and met once with a financial adviser.
This is the couple's original plea for donations on GoFundMe. They labeled the page 'pay it forward'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/05/hes-devastated-every-penny-of-the-400000-raised-for-homeless-veteran-has-gone/
Main photo article Every penny of the $400,000 raised by strangers to give a kind homeless veteran a new start after he spent his final $20 to buy a stranded woman gas has been spent by her and her boyfriend, according to the man’s lawyer.
In a devastating outcome for Johnny Bobbitt after what seemed like an...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/04/22/4F8F1FB400000578-0-Johnny_Bobbitt_the_homeless_veteran_who_strangers_donated_400_00-m-46_1536095734873.jpg
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