GoFundMe Case: Kate McClure claims to have been duped by Mark D & # 39; Amico, Johnny Bobbitt

MOUNT HOLLY, New Jersey –

A lawyer from a New Jersey woman accused of having cheated GoFundMe donors by telling the story of a homeless veteran, allegedly fooled by her former boyfriend, and he published an audio tape of the couple that he reportedly secretly recorded.

James Gerrow appeared Monday morning in "Good Morning America", claiming that Mark D & # 39; Amico "was taking the lead" and that Kate McClure believed that she was helping Navy veterinarian Johnny Bobbitt.

"I really do not think (she was complicit)," Gerrow said. "People need to understand that it was an abusive relationship … She did not understand or appreciate the fact that it could very well be a crime." she was talking and what she always thought, it's the fact that she was trying to help this homeless man. "

In the audio recording attributed exclusively to ABC News, Gerrow said McClure had been confronted with D'Amico after Bobbitt accused them of stealing his money. ABC News has not independently verified its authenticity.

McClure: "You started all that stuff (expletive) .You did it all, I did not play any role in it all, and it's me (exaggerated) who takes the fall."
D & # 39; Amico: "You do not go to jail for lying on TV, silly."
McClure: "You heard what he said, if it turns into a criminal case."
D & # 39; Amico: "You do not go to jail for lying on TV."
McClure: "But who made me lie on TV?"
D & # 39; Amico: "Do not care?"

All three are accused of conspiracy and theft by deception. Authorities say they've conspired with Bobbitt to concoct a bountiful story about Bobbitt giving McClure $ 20 while his car ran out of gas on I-95 in Philadelphia.

They raised $ 400,000, which according to prosecutors were spent for the purchase of luxury items and trips to the casino. The couple apparently discussed the expenses related to the audio recording released by Gerrow.

D & # 39; Amico: "How much did you spend in Cali? $ 2,500? (Unintelligible) $ 3,700. So it's just that there is $ 40,000. Now you want to talk about everything else? You act as if you did not spend a dollar, stop it. "
McClure: "I do not act like that."
D & # 39; Amico: "Stop it, just stop, just stop."
McClure: "I do not act like that, I never said I did not spend a dollar."

Full audio broadcast on ABC News (WARNING: graphic content):

GoFundMe has agreed to reimburse the 14,000 people who donated. Burlington County Attorney Scott Coffina said the trio would probably have fired the case with the alleged crime if Bobbitt had not filed a lawsuit.

"She feels (remorse)," Gerrow said. "One of the things she feels remorse for is the fact that it has generated such publicity and that may have prompted people to think about the idea of ​​giving, especially at this time of year. There is no doubt that a site like GoFundMe I know that she is concerned about what it has done for her family and that, frankly, has traumatized her. "

Gerrow's full interview with ABC News:

Amico and McClure opened the GoFundMe account for Bobbitt at the end of last year, claiming that they wanted to "pay it off in the long run". They launched the campaign to raise $ 10,000 to help Bobbitt get back on their feet, but the situation quickly became viral and hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid.

However, Coffina said the investigators had learned that McClure had sent a text message to a friend less than an hour after the start of the campaign, claiming that the story was "completely invented". Coffina said that she did not run out of gas and that Bobbitt did not spend $ 20 to help her.

Instead, the couple met Bobbitt at a local casino, befriended him and invented the scam, said Coffina. He added that the trio had staged the photo at the gas station that accompanied the GoFundMe field.

At first, the story had led to appearances by Bobbitt and McClure on national television programs, but it quickly became a money dispute. Bobbitt publicly accused the couple of stealing funds and a court battle ensued.

The Bordentown couple denied the charges, saying he feared giving Bobbitt large sums for fear that he was buying drugs. Bobbitt sued the couple for mismanaging the funds, claiming that he was fully controlling his money and had used thousands to make lavish trips, go shopping and play money games.

The total amount available would have been slightly more than $ 360,000 after deducting GoFundMe's fees. Bobbitt said he received about $ 75,000 in cash, goods and services and said the couple had spent the rest.

The couple claimed through the intermediary of his lawyer that they gave Bobbitt $ 200,000. Amico had stated that Bobbitt had spent $ 25,000 in less than two weeks the year before to drug himself, pay his late legal bills and send money to his family. Bobbitt's lawyer had stated that Bobbitt was participating in an addiction treatment program in an institution.

The couple also bought Bobbitt a camper with some of the money and parked on a lot that the McClure family owns in New Jersey. But Bobbitt became homeless again after D & # 39; Amico ordered him to leave in June.

The Action News sister station in Philadelphia began tracking the spending habits of McClure and Amico online from the end of last year, after receiving an anonymous message stating that they would spend GoFundMe money. In just a few short months, McClure posted photos and videos of New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, helicopter rides, trips to New York with tickets in the front row for a Broadway show, and shopping outings.

Coffina said McClure and Amico had squandered most of the $ 367,000 paid and "hit the casinos hard". They also bought a BMW and high-end handbags, according to court records, although Gerrow insisted that some of the purchases had been distorted by prosecutors.

McClure is an administrative assistant in the state of New Jersey and earns $ 43,000 a year. D'Amico is a carpenter.

Coffina praised Bobbitt's military service in the United States Marine Corps, but also said he was "fully complicit" in the scheme.

The prosecutor said the trio "cheated a lot of people," but he encouraged the public to continue giving to those in need.