Homeless Man Who Helped Woman is Now Suing Her

Isn't there any regulation of the gofundme thing? As I understand it, the GoFundMe people get a percentage of what they've collected. What's to stop someone from just setting up a GoFundMe thing for a nonexistent person, then taking the money for themselves -- GoFundMe gets a commission off the fraudulent plea, bad guys get the money and everybody's happy?

I don't think that anyone but the person for whom the GoFunMe account was set up to benefit should be able to get the money unless they can show that they are a legally appointed guardian or conservator for the person for whom the money is intended.
 

Turns out it was a get rich quick scam and they were all in on it from the start, more here.

The story goes that McClure ran out of gas and became stranded last October, and Bobbitt Jr. helped her out with his last $20.


The page was titled “Paying it Forward,” and the response was incredible: 14,347 people donated $402,706 over the course of 10 months.


Now, prosecutors told WCAU that the D’Amico, McClure and Bobbitt all conspired together in the hopes of getting and dividing up the cash.


The three are charged with conspiracy and theft by deception.


The couple turned themselves in on Wednesday.
Bobbitt remains at-large.
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SeaBreeze said:
Turns out it was a get rich quick scam and they were all in on it from the start, more here.
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I saw that on the news this morning, very sad.

We had a much smaller scam in this area recently where three people were going door to door soliciting contributions for a little girl that is battling cancer. The little girl is real and the story is true but the people collecting the money were pocketing it for themselves.
 

All too often, people who are "helping" are really helping themselves. I've become increasingly careful about where I send my charitable donations. St. Jude and NPR remain on the top of my list.
 
Not surprised. The story was shaky from the get go then when things cameout like the guy suing for his 'share' it sounded like a failed business deal.
 
Looks like the people who were scammed into donating are getting their money refunded....very good! More here.

Prosecutors announced charges in November against three people who allegedly concocted a feel-good story of kindness to attract donations in October 2017. People donated more than $400,000 to the cause.

GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne said Tuesday that "all donors who contributed to this GoFundMe campaign have been fully refunded" and that the organization was cooperating fully with law enforcement.

Whithorne said cases of misuse "make up less than one-tenth of 1 percent" of GoFundMe campaigns.

In November, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey charged Katelyn McClure and Mark D'Amico, both of Florence, New Jersey, with theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft in connection with the viral story.

The man described by the couple as a homeless veteran and good Samaritan, 35-year-old Johnny Bobbitt Jr., was charged with the same crimes.
The story that prompted the donations: Bobbitt supposedly gave McClure his last $20 when her car ran out of gas.

About 14,000 people donated to a campaign that promised to help Bobbitt start a new life, but authorities say the money was spent on luxury items and casino trips.
"The entire campaign was predicated on a lie," Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in November.

Officials said Bobbitt and McClure didn't have a chance meeting caused by her car running out of gas. Instead, Bobbitt met the couple "at least a month prior to the date of the GoFundMe campaign's launch," Coffina said. The couple had met Bobbitt during "their frequent trips to a local gambling casino," he said.
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