A New Jersey man who was involved in a $400,000 GoFundMe scheme which he cooked up with his ex-girlfriend and a homeless veteran pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday.
Mark D'Amico, 42, and his ex-girlfriend Katelyn McClure, 31, set up the fundraiser after they fabricated a story, claiming that homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr, 37, gave McClure his last $20 for gas after she was left stranded on the interstate.
On Tuesday, D'Amico pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud over two years after McClure and Bobbitt pleaded guilty in 2019.
His sentencing is scheduled for March 28 and is facing a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
New Jersey man Mark D'Amico pleaded guilty plead to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Monday for his involvement in a $400,000 GoFundMe scheme
D'Amico along with his ex-girlfriend Katelyn McClure, 31, (center) and homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt (left) had been involved in the scheme
The GoFundMe campaign called Paying it Forward was created in November 2017 to help financially support Bobbitt who was said to have given McClure his last $20 for gas at a station in Philadelphia
The GoFundMe campaign called Paying it Forward was created in November 2017 to help financially support Bobbitt.
The false story and campaign made both local and national headlines as the initial $10,000 sought jumped to $400,000 after 14,000 donors supplied funds for the cause.
The couple had deposited the money into their personal accounts and spent the
