Mark D’Amico Admits GoFundMe Fraud Scheme

Mark D’Amico, 42, of Bordentown, New Jersey, admitted today to masterminding a brazen GoFundMe fraud that swindled more than 14,000 donors out of nearly $400,000. D’Amico pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scam that falsely claimed homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr. saved a stranded motorist—Katelyn McClure—with his last $20 for gas. The story was a complete fabrication, cooked up to exploit public goodwill.

The crowdfunding campaign, titled “Paying It Forward,” launched in November 2017, promised to lift Bobbitt out of homelessness. D’Amico and McClure spun a tale of heroism on Interstate 95 that spread like wildfire through local and national media. Donations poured in fast—hitting $400,000 in under a month. But behind the scenes, D’Amico and McClure were already siphoning the cash into accounts they controlled.

Instead of helping Bobbitt, D’Amico blew through the money in weeks. He gambled heavily, blew cash on luxury vacations, bought a BMW, designer clothing, and high-end handbags. Only after the scam had raked in $1,700 did D’Amico and McClure inform Bobbitt of the campaign. In December 2017, they deposited a mere $25,000 into a bank account D’Amico helped open for him—less than 7% of the total haul.

The truth began unraveling when Bobbitt sued McClure and D’Amico in 2018 to recover the stolen funds. Investigators uncovered the full extent of the deception: no gas shortage, no heroic act, just cold, calculated fraud. D’Amico’s guilty plea follows earlier admissions by McClure and Bobbitt, who also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges on March 6, 2019. Both remain awaiting sentencing.

D’Amico faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on March 28, 2022. U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman accepted the plea in a packed Camden courtroom, where federal prosecutors painted D’Amico as a central architect of the scheme. Senior Trial Counsel Jason M. Richardson, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey B. Bender and Diana Vondra Carrig, are handling the prosecution.

The investigation was led by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, with assistance from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and Florence Township Police. Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig called the scheme a betrayal of public trust. “These defendants turned compassion into cash,” she said. “They exploited a veteran’s name and stole from thousands who believed they were doing good.”