Kate McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico launched a GoFundMe campaign, after homeless veteran, Johnny Bobbitt Jr gave her his last $20 to buy petrol to get home when she was in a crisis. McClure, 28, and D’Amico, 35, raised $400,000 (£308,000) for Bobbitt, but it turns out they kept the majority of the cash.

As reported by the BBC, Bobbitt, a 34-year-old military veteran and former firefighter, has this week launched a lawsuit against the couple, claiming he didn’t get all the money he is owed. He also accuses the couple of using the money to pay for their own lavish lifestyle.

Homeless veteran helps a woman out

At the time, McClure was moved by the fact that Bobbitt gave her his last $20 to enable her to get home safely. She launched the crowdfunding campaign in order to help Bobbitt, managing to raise $400,000 (£308,000) from a moved public, with 14,000 donors making contributions to the generous man. McClure and D’Amico wrote on the page that they wanted to get Bobbitt a job and somewhere to live.

However, Bobbitt claims they bought a camper van for him to live in on their New Jersey property along with a used car and clothing. However, they didn’t give him the balance of the money raised by the crowdfunding campaign.

Couple living a lifestyle they can’t afford

The Evening Standard reports that in the lawsuit, Bobbitt’s lawyers have accused the couple of enjoying the type of lifestyle they couldn’t previously afford, which included purchasing a BMW and using the cash as their own personal piggy bank.

In their defence, McClure, who works as a receptionist, and D’Amico, who is a motor mechanic, said they kept back the money to ensure Bobbitt didn’t spend it on drugs. According to them, the homeless veteran had blown a hefty $25,000 (£19,249) within the first two weeks.

The couple had also promised on the GoFundMe page to place the cash into two financial trusts for the homeless veteran and that they would also provide a lawyer and a financial advisor to give him assistance in managing the cash.

This didn’t happen and eventually, the couple told Bobbitt to leave their property. According to him, the couple had sold the camper and had gambled away some of the cash without giving him any kind of financial records.

Judge orders the couple to pay up

However, on Thursday the judge in a New Jersey court ordered the couple to pay Bobbitt the remaining $150,000 (£11,542). The money is to be placed into an account controlled by Bobbitt’s lawyers until a new court ruling is made.
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