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Homeless man says couple who raised $400k for him is mishandling the money
#1
Not a good situation overall. The man is homeless and back on drugs. The money raised for him was supposed to go toward housing. The couple says he would squander the money. Doesn't look good from any angle. Sounds like some sort of trust needs to be established.


https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/natio...096791002/



A GoFundMe campaign was supposed to be a "second chance at life" for Johnny Bobbitt Jr. after the homeless man's kindness to a stranger went viral in November 2017. Now, Bobbitt says he's on the streets again and thinks the more than $400,000 raised was mismanaged.

Bobbitt gained fame after giving his last $20 to a woman who ran out of gas in Philadelphia. That woman, Kate McClure, worked with boyfriend Mark D'Amico to set up a crowdfunding campaign that attracted 14,000 donors.

But now Bobbitt says he's homeless, hungry and addicted to drugs again. His lawyers say the couple has given him a fraction of the money, CNN reports. And Bobbitt fears he won't benefit from the rest, according to an interview published by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bobbitt's lawyer estimated there should be $300,000 left from the campaign, according to CNN. Chris Fallon said he and another lawyer are working to secure a guardian other than McClure and D'Amico for the balance of the money.

The relationship between Bobbitt and the couple has deteriorated in the past year, the Inquirer reports.

The GoFundMe promised the possibility of Bobbitt owning a home. Instead, the couple made arrangements for him to live in a camper on family property, the publication reports.

Bobbitt told the paper that the couple may have spent some of the money from the GoFundMe on expensive cars and gambling.

McClure and D'Amico tell a different story, saying they are withholding a portion of the money for Bobbitt's own good. They say his problems with drugs have contributed to him wasting some of the money from the campaign that he was given.

"Giving him all that money, it's never going to happen. I'll burn it in front of him," D'Amico told the paper. He indicated the money could be as dangerous to Bobbitt as "a loaded gun."
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#2
Wow. That is some white bullhockey right there.
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#3
It surely doesn't look good, but it's true that the worst thing you can do for SOME addicts is give them $300,000.
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#4
hal wrote:
It surely doesn't look good, but it's true that the worst thing you can do for SOME addicts is give them $300,000.


That may be true but it appears there is no structure of accountability in this situation. Maybe the couple is "doing right" but there is no transparency in the process. What happens to the money if this man were to OD and die?
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#5
It should never have gotten to this point. If I were the couple, I'd ignore the man's complaints, hire a lawyer and set up SOMETHING to that the money becomes his, BUT is carefully doled out. It shouldn't be hard too find a lawyer that would handle it pro bono - there has to be a person attached to allow large one-time expenses (like a home purchase). Create a will at the same time.

THEN walk away and let the guy lead his life. And never use a dime of the money myself.
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#6
hal wrote:
It should never have gotten to this point. If I were the couple, I'd ignore the man's complaints, hire a lawyer and set up SOMETHING to that the money becomes his, BUT is carefully doled out. It shouldn't be hard too find a lawyer that would handle it pro bono - there has to be a person attached to allow large one-time expenses (like a home purchase). Create a will at the same time.

THEN walk away and let the guy lead his life. And never use a dime of the money myself.

Either this is good intentions gone awry or something devious or a mix of both. A story I read indicated the homeless man was living in an RV on the couple's property. Does not say who owned the RV but I suspect the homeless man doesn't as he is homeless again. The couple should account for the money and set up sone kind of trust, something with sone accountability for all involved.
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#7
I read a longer version (I'm not going to hunt for it though).

The guy is a meth addict. They try not to give him cash, but buy him what he needs. The couple bought him the RV using the money, but he wanted a house in Florida. The RV is his, he just abandoned it. The couple admitted to using some money on a trip, but have proof of repayment.

I think the couple had good intentions but everything spiraled out of control. At this point, the least headache is likely giving him the money and washing their hands of him.
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#8
Using his money, even if paid back puts them in a bad position. I wonder how the people donating to the man feel about it being a loan fund for no interest loans to the couple. They have put themselves in a bad spot for possible civil litigation. People donated on his behalf but have ended up with a couple controlling the money with no true financial duties to this man.
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#9
This is certainly an unusual story, but the underlying problems are what social service workers deal with on a daily basis when it comes to people who are homeless. Perhaps they could consult with professionals for guidance.
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#10
It was nice of the couple to do this for him, but who wants the hassle of operating such a fund? Homeless people are homeless for many reasons; a lack of money is only one, and I'll wager that's far down on the list. Good intentions only get you so far. Turn it over to the lawyers and social workers.
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