Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter BURLINGTON CITY, N.J. (CBS/AP) — The man accused of taking money from a GoFundMe account set up for a homeless veteran was arrested on a traffic warrant. Officials say Mark D’Amico was arrested Monday night for an outstanding traffic warrant out of Burlington City. Police say the warrant stemmed from a motor vehicle stop that occurred last October, when D’Amico was pulled over for a broken tail lamp. During the stop, he was detained for potential outstanding warrants, for which he had the proper documentation and was released on scene. He posted his $500 bail after being held at the Burlington County Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 18. D’Amico and his girlfriend, Katelyn McClure, are at the center of controversy over $400,000 raised through a GoFundMe account for homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt. Bobbitt’s attorney claims the couple withheld most of that money. GoFundMe says Bobbitt will receive the money he is owed. The couple’s lawyer, Ernest Badway, says the two are likely to be indicted. The attorney said in a letter dated Thursday that one or both could be indicted by the Burlington County prosecutor and that he and his firm would no longer represent the couple in the lawsuit involving Bobbitt. Badway petitioned Superior Court Judge Paula Dow to pause the civil case in a letter Thursday, the same day authorities raided the couple’s home. Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina last week confirmed the criminal investigation into the couple, citing the “enormous” public interest in the case, though no charges have been brought. D’Amico and McClure have earlier denied wrongdoing or misusing the cash, which was raised on GoFundMe from 14,000 contributors. Bobbitt sued the couple over mismanagement of the funds, and Dow had ordered sworn statements to determine what happened to the cash, which attorneys say is all gone. The formerly feel-good story has turned dismal, with Bobbitt saying the couple used the funds as “personal piggy bank” to bankroll a lifestyle they couldn’t afford. Last week, investigators seized a BMW and other items from the couple’s Florence, New Jersey, property. Badway said in his letter that all the couple’s personal and business financial statements, along with jewelry and cash were seized in the official raid last week. The story goes back to 2017 when Bobbitt used $20 to help a stranded McClure get gas when her car ran out on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. As a way to help repay his kindness, McClure and D’Amico launched a GoFundMe page that brought in just over $400,000 in contributions. The account, at first, led to appearances for Bobbitt and McClure on national TV programs, but turned into a dispute over the money. D’Amico has said Bobbitt spent $25,000 in less than two weeks last year on drugs as well as paying for overdue legal bills and sending money to family. Bobbitt’s attorney said last week Bobbitt was entering a residential program for drug treatment. The couple also bought Bobbitt a camper with some of the cash and parked it on land McClure’s family owns in New Jersey. But Bobbitt became homeless again after D’Amico told him in June he had to leave. (© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)<doc-sep>EMBED >More News Videos Police search home of GoFundMe couple in New Jersey. Katherine Scott reports during Action News at Noon on September 6, 2018. EMBED >More News Videos Investigators execute a search warrant at the home of the NJ couple accused of defrauding a homeless man. Katherine Scott reports from the scene on September 6, 2018. EMBED >More News Videos Judge Paula Dow orders couple to appear in court over a GoFundMe account that raised $400,000 for a homeless man. Watch this video from September 5, 2018. EMBED >More News Videos Judge orders couple behind GoFundMe account for homeless man to appear in court. Chad Pradelli reports during Action News at 4pm on September 5, 2018. EMBED >More News Videos Bobbitt claims he only received a small portion of the money raised. Chad Pradelli reports during Action News at 11 on August 30, 2018. From Action News reporter @chadpradelli: According to court filings in the John Bobbitt case, Mark D’Amico sent this text message to Bobbitt right after appearing on a national talk show. Here are more of today's developments: https://t.co/vA7J9jTXhT pic.twitter.com/Y6TJS572Kn — Action News on 6abc (@6abc) September 6, 2018 EMBED >More News Videos All GoFundMe money is gone, attorney for homeless man says. Chad Pradelli reports during Action News at 4:30pm on September 4, 2018. BORDENTOWN, N.J. -- Authorities have executed a search warrant at the Bordentown, New Jersey home of a couple who raised $400,000 through GoFundMe for a homeless Philadelphia man who now claims they mismanaged the cash.Investigators could be seen searching a BMW in the driveway of the Burlington County home of Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico. The vehicle was then loaded onto a truck outside the home and hauled away.Police and other investigators could be seen elsewhere on the property. "Due to the enormous public interest in this matter, I am confirming that a search warrant was executed early this morning by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and the Florence Township Police Department at the residence of Mark D'Amico and Katelyn McClure in connection with a criminal investigation into the Johnny Bobbitt matter," Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina said in a statement. "As of this time, there have been no charges filed. Further updates will be provided as circumstances warrant," Coffina said.D'Amico was also at the home. He was swinging a golf club and playing fetch with a dog. A short time later, McClure got into a car and left the home, but she did not answer reporters' questions.The couple is being sued by the homeless man, John Bobbitt.McClure and D'Amico started a GoFundMe account to help Bobbitt, who spent his last $20 to help McClure after she ran out of gas on I-95 last year.At a court hearing on Wednesday, the lawyer for McClure and D'Amico, Ernest Badway, tried to assert his clients' fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.The couple was not present. Judge Paula Dow ordered McClure and D'Amico appear in court next week. Dow told Badway that she had a number of questions about the case and wanted to see the defendants herself.The couple also must give depositions about the money that was raised for Bobbitt.The judge also ordered the attorneys for both the couple and Bobbitt to get their paperwork in order, and figure out the money trail to see who spent what on both sides.The total amount raised would have been $360,000 after GoFundMe's fees.The couple claimed through their attorney they gave Bobbitt $200,000. Bobbitt pinned the figure at $75,000 in cash, goods, and services.Bobbitt's lawyer says he's been told all the money is gone. It's unclear what happened to it. McClure and D'Amico have denied wrongdoing.On a nationally broadcast talk show last Monday, D'Amico said there was $150,000 remaining. Court records reveal that D'Amico allegedly texted Bobbitt after the broadcast and wrote, in part, "Yo, I say I get rid of my team of lawyers, you get rid of yours, and Kate and I write you a check. Seriously. "The text went on to say, "They're gonna put it in a trust man. You're gonna end up with nothing. "Action News began following McClure and D'Amico's spending habits online beginning late last year, after receiving an anonymous tip they were allegedly spending the GoFundMe money.In just a few months, McClure posted pictures and videos of a New Year's Eve Bash in Las Vegas, helicopter rides, trips to New York with front row tickets to a Broadway show, and shopping excursions.How they paid for the items and trips is unclear. McClure is an administrative assistant with the state of New Jersey who makes $43,000 per year. D'Amico is a carpenter.The couple has previously denied spending any of the GoFundMe money on themselves.<doc-sep>
Police on Thursday morning descended on the home of a New Jersey couple accused of pilfering from an online fundraiser they launched that raised more than $400,000 to help a homeless veteran. A search warrant was executed at the Florence Township home of Katelyn McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D'Amico, in connection with a criminal investigation, confirmed Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina. He added that no charges were filed but "further updates will be provided as circumstances warrant." It was unclear what law enforcement agents were seeking. A local ABC reporter tweeted that a BMW belonging to the couple was seized. Last month, homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr. told The Philadelphia Inquirer that McClure, who works for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and D'Amico, a carpenter, spent the money meant for him on a new BMW and lavish getaways to California, Florida, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Execution of the search warrant comes a day after a judge ordered McClure, 28, and D'Amico, 39, to appear in depositions next week and describe what happened to the funds from the GoFundMe account they started last November for Bobbitt. The judge said that what happened to some of the funds "lacks clarity" and that she needed to hear from the couple themselves. Chris Fallon, an attorney representing Bobbitt, told NBC Philadelphia this week that he was "shocked" and "appalled" to learn during a call with the couple's attorneys that the more-than $402,000 they raised was completely gone. Ernest Badway, their attorney, declined to comment about how much actually remains, or about Thursday's search warrant. The initially touching tale drew national attention last fall when Bobbitt gave McClure his last $20 after she ran out of gas on a freeway ramp outside of Philadelphia. To pay it forward, McClure and D'Amico later started the online fundraiser for Bobbitt, drawing donations from more than 14,000 people. But it turned into a legal dispute in late August when attorneys for Bobbitt filed a lawsuit to try to force the couple to turn over the remaining money that he said he had never received. The couple said on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" last week that they did not use any of the money that was raised, but believed there could be as little as $150,000 left after they claimed Bobbitt spent the funds on family, a trailer and truck, and drugs. They added that while they had set up an account for Bobbitt and he had access to the funds, the account didn't include all of the money because they feared he would spend it on drugs. They said Bobbitt had already gone through about $25,000 in 13 days. Badway previously said in court that Bobbitt received at least $200,000 of the funds, The Inquirer reported. But in court documents filed by Bobbitt's attorneys, the couple was accused of using "substantial portions of the money raised for their own personal use.” The judge who ordered them to turn over the remainder of the money said the couple must give those funds to their defense lawyer, who must then put it into an escrow account as the case continues, NBC Philadelphia reported. The judge also ordered McClure and D'Amico to provide a full accounting of the money. In a statement, GoFundMe said that it was working with law enforcement to ensure Bobbitt receives all of the funds that were raised for him and that it has given $20,000 to a bank account created by Bobbitt's legal team.