[ad_1]
Lawyer James Gerrow, who defends Kate McClure in the criminal case, said McClure admitted that the story of his lack of fuel on Interstate 95 was invented. But he said that D & # 39; Amico had dictated the story when she created the GoFundMe page, titled "Paying it Forward," and had convinced her to play with the lie to help the homeless Bobbitt, whom D'Amico had made friends and introduced to McClure.
Kate McClure, Florence's wife at the center of an alleged scam at GoFundMe that brought in more than $ 400,000, admits the story of a homeless veteran who helped her out. false, but that it is his boyfriend of the time who nurtured him to attract donors to donate to the fund, said his lawyer Saturday.
McClure, his former boyfriend, Mark D'Amico, and the homeless Johnny Bobbitt, were charged with robbery and conspiracy last week by the Burlington County District Attorney's Office, which alleged that the trio had told Bobbitt's story helping McClure to stimulate donations with the intention of sharing recipes.
Lawyer James Gerrow, who defends McClure in the criminal case, said McClure admitted that the story of his lack of fuel on Interstate 95 was invented. But he said that D & # 39; Amico had dictated the story when she created the GoFundMe page, titled "Paying it Forward," and had convinced her to play with the lie to help the homeless Bobbitt, whom D'Amico had made friends and introduced to McClure.
The lawyer claims that the two men knew each other and conspired to use McClure as part of their fundraising scheme to feed Bobbitt's heroin addiction and D'Amico's compulsive gambling.
"Throughout this process, Kate has been used and driven," Gerrow said Saturday about the alleged conspiracy. "They needed her for the story. But there is no doubt in my mind that it was Bobbitt and D'Amico who invented it. "
He cited the long-standing statement of probable cause of the prosecutor's office that Bobbitt had previously published a similar story on Facebook regarding the assistance of a failed motorist in his home state, North Carolina, in 2012.
Prosecutors said the couple had known Bobbitt for at least a month before launching the campaign in November 2017. But Gerrow said D'Amico was the first person to meet Bobbitt.
And while McClure created and ran the GoFundMe page, which included the history of gasoline and Bobbitt used the last $ 20 to help him, Gerrow said the idea of launching fundraising on the Internet went to D Amico, as in the invented history.
"His goal was always to help a homeless veterinarian," Gerrow said. "She is a young woman who cares well and has done charity work in the past."
He added that Ms. McClure had never expected the campaign to generate more than a few thousand dollars and that she thought all that money would be used to help Bobbitt.
"Kate did not think for a second that she would reach $ 10,000, but it's going to become very ballistic," he said, adding that she wanted to stop accepting contributions after the Goal exceeded the goal, but that GoFundMe did not leave it.
GoFundMe, which has agreed to reimburse the more than 14,000 donors who donated to the campaign, said campaign organizers could block donations at any time.
Later, after the fund generated more than $ 400,000, Bobbitt donated half of the total proceeds to D'Amico and McClure. D'Amico then agreed to buy $ 150,000, Gerrow said.
"(D'Amico) even arranged a meeting with a tax lawyer to discuss the tax implications of getting $ 150,000," said Gerrow, adding that all the money had been placed in McClure's bank accounts at D'Amico's request.
"His bank accounts were used and everything was in his name. It's done at the request of D'Amico, but he has equal access (to the accounts), "added Gerrow.
D'Amico and his lawyer could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
The criminal investigation began this summer after Bobbitt filed a lawsuit accusing McClure and D'Amico of mismanaging campaign revenues and spending much of their money on themselves.
Prosecutors said their investigation revealed that $ 75,000 had been paid or spent on behalf of Bobbitt, including $ 18,350 for a motor home parked at D'Amico and McClure's home in Florence. , then sold by the couple.
The investigators claim that the considerable proceeds from the sale were deposited in McClure-controlled bank accounts and then spent on a BMW, high-end handbags and cash withdrawals of approximately $ 85,363, in or close to Las Vegas, Maryland and Atlantic City casinos.
While they were executing a search warrant at McClure and D'Amico this fall, investigators seized 12 designer handbags, a bracelet, wallets and a Louis Vuitton-tagged backpack, Coach, Michael Kors and Vera Bradley, with a combined value of nearly $ 12,000. according to court documents.
In addition, approximately $ 9,800 was paid to McClure and D'Amico's family members as reimbursement of the couple's money, according to court documents.
Gerrow did not deny that McClure spent some money on handbags and vacations, but claimed that most of the money was wasted by D'Amico or used by Bobbitt to buy drugs.
He stated that Mr. McClure was naive and that he had not realized the extent of the deception until prosecutors had presented much of their evidence at the time. from a meeting with him and McClure.
"I turned to Kate and said," Do you understand what they are saying to you? "She became very emotional, literally, she was shaking and crying," Gerrow said. "She realized that she was created by a man she loved and cared about."
He added that the couple separated at about the same time and stopped communicating.
Previously, they lived together in a Florentine house that belonged to his grandmother. D'Amico – who has been described as a carpenter – rarely worked and McClure, who is employed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, was the sole breadwinner, Gerrow said.
He added that Bobbitt and his brother had also lived on the property for some time, but that the couple had quarreled with him at about the same time that items had disappeared, including computers, a camera and jewelry. While the suspicions weighed on Bobbitt because of his addiction to drugs, Mr. Gerrow learned that it was later discovered that D'Amico himself had taken certain items and pledged them.
It was after Bobbitt returned to the streets that he sued McClure and D'Amico in order to win all the money raised through the campaign. Prosecutors opened their investigation after it was revealed that all the money had been spent.
The three suspects were charged on Wednesday. McClure and D'Amico returned the same word and were released pending a court hearing on December 24. Bobbitt was arrested in Philadelphia and is currently detained pending extradition to New Jersey.
Burlington County Attorney Scott Coffina said the three suspects had accepted and profited from the deception and repeated the story invented during numerous interviews and appearances in newspapers, radio and television.
Gerrow, who previously served as deputy attorney for Burlington County, said he thought the evidence would show that his client would eventually be manipulated and used by the other two suspects.
"We understand what drug addicts can do. They are great manipulators and big conspirators, "he said. "I only hope that the prosecution sees how she was trained in this case. The evidence really supports that. "
Source link
