April 02, 2022
Mark D'Amico/GoFundMe
A photo Mark D'Amico took of his co-conspirators Katelyn McClure and Jonny Bobbitt, Jr. as part of his GoFundMe scam.
A Burlington County man who created a fake feel-good story with his former girlfriend and a homeless man to solicit thousands in online donations was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison on Friday.
Following this term, Mark D'Amico, 42, formerly of Bordentown – who authorities called the ringleader of the plot – will also have to serve three years of probation, pay restitution and follow through with gambling, drug and mental health treatment, the Associated Press reports.
Before he was sentenced in Camden, D'Amico told U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman that he was a changed man.
"The person that did the things that led us here no longer exists," he said.
D'Amico pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in November. He was charged with 16 offenses when he was first indicted in January 2020, including conspiracy and money laundering.
He and his co-conspirators Katelyn McClure and Jonny Bobbitt, Jr. all pleaded guilty to state charges last year, 6ABC reports. Bobbitt was sentenced to five years probation on the state charges and he and McClure will be sentenced on the federal charges later this year.
In 2017, the trio made up a story about Bobbitt giving McClure $20 when her car ran out of gas in Philadelphia.
D'Amico and McClure collected $400,000 in donations through GoFundMe, purportedly to help Bobbitt.
But the story was almost completely fabricated. McClure never ran out of gas and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 on her. The couple met the homeless veteran near a casino in Philadelphia in October 2017, authorities said.
They began investigating after Bobbitt accused the couple of not giving him the money, which was all spent by March 2018 on vehicles, casino trips and more.
The scam was the subject of a documentary produced by 6ABC's investigative team which premiered on Hulu last year.
