A New Jersey woman has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for her role in a viral GoFundMe scam that was organized under the pretense of helping a homeless veteran from Philadelphia.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said Katelyn McClure, 32, will serve one year and one day in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was sentenced Thursday.
Federal prosecutors said that McClure orchestrated the scam with Mark D’Amico, 43, when they created a GoFundMe page titled “Paying It Forward” in November 2017.
The page said it was designed to help homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt, 39, who had purportedly used his last $20 to buy gas for McClure after she had run out while driving on Interstate 95.
D’Amico and McClure set a goal of raising $10,000 in order to provide Bobbitt with living expenses, according to prosecutors, but the story caught the attention of national media and wound up bringing in $400,000 from more than 14,000 donors in less than three weeks.
Yahoo News reported that the trio had actually met at a Philadelphia casino in October 2017 and plotted the scheme there.
Federal prosecutors said D’Amico and McClure set up a bank account for Bobbitt and deposited $25,000 into it.
A majority of the money was spent by D’Amico and McClure on personal items within three months after the scam was carried out, which multiple outlets reported as things such as a BMW and trips to casinos in Las Vegas.
However, Bobbitt eventually sued the couple and accused them of not giving him his money. The lawsuit put the case on law enforcement’s radar and led to the arrest and convictions of all involved.
D’Amico was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison in April and will be sentenced on state charges next month.
Bobbitt was sentenced to five years probation on state charges in 2019 and faces federal charges next month.
McClure will also be sentenced on state charges next month. According to her federal sentencing Thursday, she will be on supervised release for three years and also owes $400,000 in restitution.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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