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A lawyer for the New Jersey couple accused of stealing from an online fundraiser they started for a homeless veteran says his firm will no longer represent them in their civil case as they will “likely” be indicted.
The latest developments came to light in court documents Monday after attorney Ernest Badway wrote in a motion that Katelyn McClure and boyfriend Mark D’Amico are “unable to defend themselves” because they no longer have access to certain financial records.
“(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 also wrote.
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His law firm could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday, and it was unclear if it would represent the couple in any criminal proceedings.
McClure and D’Amico were set to give depositions Monday in regard to the civil case, but those were subsequently canceled, The Burlington County Times reported.
In the meantime, the judge in the case agreed to Badway’s request to put civil matters on hold until December while a criminal investigation unfolds. The couple has not been charged.
A search warrant was executed Thursday at the Florence Township home of McClure and D’Amico. Prosecutors did not say what they were looking for, but a BMW was reportedly seized.
The initially feel-good tale began last fall when Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless Marine veteran, gave McClure his last $20 after she ran out of gas on a freeway ramp outside of Philadelphia. Moved by the gesture, McClure and D’Amico started a GoFundMe campaign for Bobbitt, drawing donations from more than 14,000 people and earning him $402,000.
But Bobbitt believed the couple was dipping into some of the money for themselves, and in late August attorneys for him filed a lawsuit to try to force McClure and D’Amico to turn over the remaining cash.
Bobbitt’s attorneys allege he has only received $75,000 of the money raised and claim the couple spent donations on items such a BMW and on luxury vacations.
The couple has denied the allegations and said they withheld some of the money because they feared Bobbitt, who has battled a drug addiction, would spend it on drugs.