Flying Geese Squared

 

In November, 2017 I wrote about a homeless veteran, Johnny Bobbitt Jr. who gave his last $20 to help a young woman whose car had run out of gas. The woman, Kate McClure, and Mark D'Amico, her boyfriend, McClure and D’Amico then set up a GoFundMe account, ostensibly to help Bobbitt. As I always do, I fact-checked the story before sharing it. But the whole thing was a scam. McClure and D’Amico invented the tale to collect more than $400,000, which they spent on an RV, a BMW, and casino trips. It was – at the time – the largest fraud involving a crowd-funding platform. By the following spring, the money was gone. Bobbitt sued the couple; federal and state criminal investigations were launched. Bobbitt was sentenced to probation, and McClure and D’Amico are both serving time in prison. What started as a feel-good story ended up as a sad commentary on deceit and greed.