Accused mastermind of $400K GoFundMe scam with Johnny Bobbitt pleads not guilty

Mark D’Amico, the accused mastermind of a $400K GoFundMe scam that relied on a fictitious Good Samaritan story, pleaded not guilty to theft, conspiracy and related crimes Tuesday in state Superior Court in New Jersey.

D’Amico, 39, of Florence, stands charged with theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, elements of computer theft, misapplication of entrusted property, and conspiracy to commit each of those acts. He said little during a brief hearing in Mount Holly before Judge Terrence Cook after Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Andrew McDonnell said the state had offered a plea agreement that would carry a five-year prison term.

D’Amico’s lawyer, Mark Davis, said his client rejected the plea offer.

McDonnell said the state would reserve judgment on whether to go along with any recommendation made by court staff as to whether D’Amico would qualify for an Intensive Supervision Program instead of jail time. The program is available to nonviolent offenders without a prior criminal record and is based on criteria that would determine eligibility.

The judge said he was aware D’Amico may file a motion to dismiss the charges and set a status hearing for July 8. D’Amico, who wore a suit and tie to the hearing, is not in custody, having been granted pre-trial release after the charges were issued. He declined comment after the hearing.

Last month, his former girlfriend, Katelyn McClure, 29, of Bordentown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy as part of an agreement that calls for her to face a four-year prison term. She admitted that she and D’Amico, befriended Johnny Bobbitt Jr., 36, a homeless veteran, outside a Philadelphia casino in 2017 and made up a story that Bobbitt had offered her his last $20 when she ran out of gas off I-95 in Philadelphia.

McClure said in a GoFundMe post and in TV and other media interviews that Bobbitt had been panhandling in an area where her car sputtered to a stop and he came to her aid and walked to a nearby gas station to buy gas for her.

McClure admitted to a single charge of theft by deception and agreed to testify against D’Amico and Bobbitt. Sentencing in her case is scheduled for June 3.

More than 14,000 donors worldwide contributed to the GoFundMe campaign and were led to believe the money would be used to help Bobbitt, a former Marine, get off the streets. The three appeared on national TV and radio shows to promote their Paying It Forward campaign, which went viral over the holiday season.

McClure also pleaded guilty to conspiracy related to the case in federal court in Camden and is awaiting sentencing. She said she and D’Amico spent much of the money that was raised on vacations, casino gambling, a BMW, two trucks, designer handbags, and other purchases.

Bobbitt, a longtime drug addict, was sentenced in Burlington County last month to five years of special probation that requires him to enroll in a court-supervised live-in drug rehabilitation program. If he fails to complete the program, he could be sentenced to five years in state prison with 18 months of parole ineligibility.

Bobbitt also agreed to testify against McClure and D’Amico at trial. He also was prosecuted by federal authorities and faces an additional six to 30 months in federal prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, under his plea arrangement. That term could be concurrent or consecutive to the sentence in state court.

Federal prosecutors have declined to say whether D’Amico may be charged or whether he is under investigation.