GoFundMe ‘scam’ couple: NJ suspends woman’s job, ex could lose home

FLORENCE — An ironic problem for the (now former) couple charged in the GoFundMe fraud case: One is fighting for a place to live; the other may lose her government job.

Last November, Mark D'Amico and Kate McClure set up a page to help homeless vet Johnny Bobbitt Jr. get back on his feet after the couple said Bobbitt gave McClure his last $20 when she ran out of gas on Route 95 in South Philadelphia.

"The entire campaign was predicated on a lie," Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said after the three were charged in the scam last week. "Less than an hour after the GoFundMe campaign went live, McClure, in a text exchange with a friend, stated that the story about Bobbitt assisting her was 'completely made up.' She did not run out of gas on an I-95 off-ramp, and he did not spend his last $20 to help her. Rather, D’Amico, McClure, and Bobbitt conspired to fabricate and promote a feel-good story that would compel donors to contribute to their cause."

Now it's D'Amico who finds himself without a home. McClure, meanwhile, has been suspended from her assistant secretarial job at the state Department of Transportation.

McClure's grandmother, Leslie DeAngelo, filed a criminal complaint against D'Amico because he won’t leave the township property he and Kate McClure were renting from her, according to a criminal complaint obtained by NJ.com.

The couple broke up this fall as the prosecutors investigated their GoFundMe campaign after Bobbitt claimed that the couple were keeping the money for themselves and spending it on lavish trips, a luxury car and other goods.

D'Amico had promised to leave the home by Nov. 1 when police came to the door in October, according to the complaint, but he instead changed the locks and stayed. D'Amico missed a court appearance on the matter on Monday and it's not clear where he is now.

A DOT spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that McClure is on "suspension status," but declined to say if it was a paid or unpaid. She earned a $49,000 base salary, state records show.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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