The case of a couple who raised about $400,000 for a homeless veteran in a viral campaign on GoFundMe and now say the money is all gone is prompting state authorities to look at the websites and such charitable efforts.
The Record reports that the Attorney General’s Office has said it will “review its practices” for such websites.The office has never prosecuted a case based on violations of charitable law arising out of such online campaigns, according to the story.
Any charitable campaign in New Jersey must follow state laws, the story said. However, crowdfunding is new “and raises novel questions,” the spokeswoman told the news site.
Burlington County authorities are apparently investigating Mark D’Amico and Katelyn McClure, who started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless veteran who used his last $20 to help McClure when her vehicle ran out of gas. Bobbitt, however, said he only got about $75,000 of the cash and sued to get the rest. While the couple initially said Bobbitt had received about $200,000 of the cash, when a judge ordered that they turn over what was left, their attorney said all the money was gone.
GoFundMe has said it will make sure Bobbitt gets the amount raised for him, no matter what happened to the funds.
Quote of the Day: “It’s a single-digit race. I think, nationally, the Democrats are trying to bail him out.” — Doug Steinhardt, chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, on national Democrats helping Sen. Robert Menendez in a race that has turned out to be more competitive than expected.
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