CAMDEN, N.J. – A Burlington County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for her role in a GoFundMe scam that gained nationwide attention, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Katelyn McClure, 32, of Bordentown, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In November 2017, McClure and Mark D’Amico, 43, allegedly created a crowd-source funding page on GoFundMe’s website titled “Paying It Forward.” The campaign solicited donations from the public purportedly for the benefit of a homeless veteran, Johnny Bobbitt, 39, of Philadelphia. McClure and D’Amico posted a story that McClure was driving home from Philadelphia on Interstate 95 and ran out of gas. Bobbitt acted as a “good Samaritan” and rescued McClure by using his last $20 to buy gasoline for her. The website stated that funds were being solicited to get Bobbitt off the streets and provide him with living expenses, setting a goal of $10,000.
In reality, McClure never ran out of gas and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 for her. D’Amico and McClure allegedly conspired to create the false story to obtain money from donors. The story was quickly picked up by local and national…
