Fake GoFundMe story about veteran's $20 gas gift raises $400,000 from 14,000 donors

A viral fundraising campaign that collected hundreds of thousands of pounds for a homeless military veteran was an elaborate scam planned by the supposed good Samaritan and a New Jersey couple, US federal prosecutors revealed. More than 14,000 donors gave around $400,000 to the GoFundMe campaign after reading an emotional story about Johnny Bobbitt Jr, a homeless veteran who supposedly spent his last $20 to buy petrol for a stranded driver on a dark highway in Philadelphia. An investigation led by the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and local prosecutors found that the three people had made up the entire story to take advantage of public generosity. All three people involved later faced state and federal criminal charges for their roles in the scheme.Viral story built on falsehoodsThe campaign, called "Paying It Forward", was launched in November 2017 by Katelyn McClure, then 28, and her boyfriend at the time, Mark D'Amico. According to court documents filed by the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, McClure and D'Amico posted a story claiming that McClure was driving home on Interstate 95 when her car ran out of fuel. The couple said Bobbitt sa...