Mark D’Amico, the New Jersey man accused of spending GoFundMe money raised for a Pennsylvania homeless man, claims everything will soon make sense in the confusing — and headline-making — case.
Earlier this month, an attorney for D’Amico, 39, and his 28-year-old girlfriend Kate McClure, told a Burlington County court that the thousands they raised to rescue Johnny Bobbitt, 35, from homelessness in Philadelphia was all gone. Now, D’Amico claims all will be made known.
D’Amico appeared in Burlington City municipal court on Tuesday for an unrelated traffic warrant. While there, a reporter asked him to address allegations that he and McClure spent a large portion of Bobbitt’s $402,706 on lavish vacations and even a BMW, the Associated Press reported.
When asked whether everything would become clear, D’Amico responded: “crystal clear,” according to the AP.
The appearance comes days after Burlington County Judge Paula Dow granted D’Amico’s attorney a stay, putting the civil case on hold until December. Neither D’Amico nor McClure have been charged in the case, a spokesperson with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office tells PEOPLE.
RELATED: N.J. Couple Accused of Spending Homeless Man’s GoFundMe Donations Could Be Indicted, Lawyer Says
Bobbitt, originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, first met McClure last October, when her car ran out of gas on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. Bobbitt famously spent his last $20 to buy gas for McClure. Moved by his kindness, she and D’Amico set up a GoFundMe page to help Bobbitt get back on his feet. More than 14,000 donated a total of $402,706 to the man.
However, what started as a feel-good story took a sour turn last month when Bobbitt, through his attorneys, filed a lawsuit against the couple, accusing them of fraud and conspiracy.
“I wish it didn’t come to this. I hate that it came to this,” Bobbitt previously told WPVI of the lawsuit. “I always felt like I was in a weird situation. I didn’t want to be pressuring to get a lawyer or do anything because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful.”
In the wake of the filing, the judge ordered the couple to hand over the remainder of the GoFundMe funds to Bobbitt’s attorney’s law firm. However, the couple’s attorney, Ernest Badway, told the court that the money was allegedly all gone.
“It is safe to say that we were shocked and concerned when their lawyer told us… that there was no money left,” Bobbitt’s attorney, Jacqueline Promislo, previously told PEOPLE. “We are now doing some discovery on an emergency basis to try to figure out where the money went but at this time we have no further information.”
RELATED: Homeless Vet Will Get $400K in GoFundMe Donations Despite Couple’s Alleged Fraud, Lawyer Says
Adding yet another attention-grabbing twist to the case, the Florence Police Department raided McClure and D’Amico’s apartment in connection with what Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina called a “criminal investigation,” according to a statement shared on Twitter.
Then, last week, Badway told the court that the outcome did not look good for his clients.
“Since it is expected that one or both of the Defendants will likely be indicted, my firm and I will no longer be able to continue our representation of them in this matter,” Badway wrote in a motion filed in Burlington County Superior Court.
“(However, we are not seeking that relief at this time, we merely wanted to make the Court aware of the potential future development.)”
Badway did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
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