Homeless man pleads guilty in $400,000 GoFundMe plot

March 08, 2019 11:05 pm • Last Updated: March 08, 2019 11:06 pm

In this Dec. 14, 2018, file pool photo, Johnny Bobbitt stands during a hearing at Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly, N.J. Bobbitt, a homeless man charged with engaging in a GoFundMe scheme, pleaded guilty in federal court in in Camden, N.J., Wednesday, March 6, 2019, to conspiracy to commit money laundering. (David Swanson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, Pool, File)

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) — A homeless man has pleaded guilty to a state charge in a GoFundMe scheme that prosecutors say netted $400,000 with a made-up story about him aiding a stranded driver.

Thirty-six-year-old Johnny Bobbitt, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty Friday in New Jersey Superior Court to conspiracy to commit theft by deception.

He faces five years of probation and was entered into the state's drug court program.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge that carries up to 10 years.

Prosecutors say Bobbitt conspired with Katelyn McClure and her then-boyfriend Mark D'Amico to make up a story in 2017 about Bobbitt giving McClure cash for gas when she was stranded along a Philadelphia highway.

McClure pleaded guilty to a federal charge this week. She and D'Amico face state charges, as well.

D'Amico has denied wrongdoing.

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