Homeless hero gets his funds

By NOA ISRAEL

Many have been following the story of Johnny Bobbit Jr., a homeless ex-Marine that saved a stranded girl by giving her his last $20 for gas last October. Soon after the encounter, the girl, Kate McClure, started a GoFundMe Campaign— “Paying it Forward”— in order to raise money for Bobbit as a thank you gesture. The campaign went viral.

Within a few months, more than 10,000 people had donated to the campaign and raised more than $400,000 for Bobbit. It seemed as though the story had come to a happy end. However, as the money came funneling in, problems began to arise between McClure, her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, and Bobbit.

“The money has been in dispute, and Bobbitt is suing the couple, accusing them of fraud. Bobbitt’s attorney says his client has only seen about $75,000 of that money and should have gotten about $300,000 more after GoFundMe’s fees,” CNN reported.

The couple refused to give Bobbit his campaign donations, claiming it was because of his drug addiction— feeling he would spend it all recklessly. Bobbitt and his lawyer disputed this and claimed the couple was using the money for their own necessities.

After a legal battle, the couple is now being ordered to hand over the money to Bobbit and a search warrant has been issued for their home to see what and how the money they received was handled. The mass amounts of news media attention on social media and the news surrounding Bobbit’s story contributed to his recovery of his deserved money quickly and smoothly.

Bobbit plans to use his new found fortune to find a place to live, pay rent and other necessities. He also plans to participate in a rehabilitation program in order to target his drug addiction problem.