New Jersey Woman Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison over $400,000 Viral GoFundMe Scam

A New Jersey woman has been sentenced to three years in state prison for her part in scamming over $400,000 from GoFundMe donors. The scam went viral based on the promise the money would be donated to a homeless man who gave her his last $20. The woman and her boyfriend planned to use the funds to buy a BMW, takes trips, and make other extravagant purchases.

CNN reports that a woman in New Jersey has been sentenced to three years in state prison for her involvement in a scheme to defraud GoFundMe donors of more than $400,000. Katelyn McClure, 32, was employed by the state Department of Transportation when she and her then-boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, created a GoFundMe campaign claiming that McClure had run out of gas on a highway and received help from a homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., who gave her his last $20.

The couple stated that they wanted to pay it forward and help Bobbitt get off the streets, and their story quickly gained national attention, resulting in more than 14,000 donations. However, an investigation later revealed that the couple had planned the scam and used the funds, which totaled around $367,000 after fees, for personal expenses such as a BMW, a trip to Las Vegas, gambling, and designer handbags.

In 2019, McClure pleaded guilty to one count of theft by deception in the second degree. She is currently serving a 12-month and one-day term in a federal prison in Connecticut. McClure’s sentence will run concurrently with her federal prison time, and the judge has also permanently prohibited her from holding a public employee position.

D’Amico pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a five-year term in state prison and ordered to pay restitution to GoFundMe and the donors. Bobbitt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft by deception in 2019 and was sentenced to a five-year special probation period, including drug treatment.

COMMENTS