A New Jersey woman, who helped scheme an elaborate fake story about helping a homeless veteran, was arrested for scamming $400K in GoFundMe donations.
On Thursday, the woman was sentenced in federal court to spend 1 year in prison.
Katelyn McClure, 32, was also ordered to pay restitution and serve three years of supervised release for the 2018 scheme that unraveled once she and her then-boyfriend were sued by the homeless man.
McClure’s sentencing, is the consequence of fabricating a wild tale that began when she shared a heartwarming story about a down-on-his-luck veteran, Johnny Bobbitt, handing her his last $20 to fill up her tank after she ran out of gas in the middle of the night.
She and her then-boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the kind-hearted stranger and about 14,000 people contributed to the cause in the following weeks.
However, the account was a hoax. The couple met Bobbitt about a month before she claimed he handed over his last Jackson, while he was panhandling by an underpass. McClure fabricated the story to compel donors to pay it forward.
The trio enjoyed the fruits of their fraud until Bobbitt sued McClure and D’Amico, over claims they were blowing the stash on luxury items, a recreational vehicle, a BMW and trips to casinos. Bobbitt claimed they only shared about $75,000 with him.
D’Amico accepted a plea deal in Burlington County in 2019 and agreed to a five-year jail sentence. Bobbit was ordered to enter a drug rehab program. Like McClure, both are scheduled for sentencing on separate state charges next month.
McClure pleaded guilty to second-degree theft by deception as part of the agreement in New Jersey Superior Court in 2019.
She is also scheduled to be sentenced on state charges next month, which could result in more jail time.
I hope Bobbitt and more veterans get more of the $400k. I hope Bobbitt and others like him can get clean and get their lives back on track. Shame on these people for taking advantage of this situation, especially on our veterans. A year is not good enough to serve. 5-10 would be more like it and then pay back the $400k x 2. This sickens me to no end. I did not have the pleasure of serving this country. I had several family members and friends that did. I salute all who served, who will serve and the families of those that served and their sacrifices. GoFundMe should charge a little extra and be the administrator of the funds. The checks could be made to vetted organizations for dispersal of the funds or be paid directly to hospitals, rehabs, utility companies, banks etc.., depending on the need. I know some corruption will come into play especially with organizations and government entities, but it may cut down on this kind of thing.
You realize he went Along with it, right? He never gave her the $20, in the first place
GO FUND ME is a scam along with hundreds of other “Oh poor me” scams,, anyone stupid enough to give $$$ to them has no right to bitch… you voluntarily gave them your money so TS you loose.