A New Jersey woman was sentenced Friday to three years in state prison on state theft charges after previously pleading guilty to a GoFundMe scam that raised more than $400,000 in online donations.
Katelyn McClure, 32, was not present in the Mount Holly courtroom when Judge Christopher J. Garrenger handed down her sentence because she is currently serving a one-year and one-day sentence in federal prison in Connecticut, according to a Burlington County District Attorney’s Office press release. McClure’s New Jersey sentence will run concurrently with the federal one.
McClure previously worked as a worker for the state Department of Transportation and has been permanently barred from ever returning to work as a public employee.
“This sentence brings to an end a case that defrauded more than 14,000 people whose decency and compassion for others elicited a tremendously moving response to help someone they believed was truly in need,” District Attorney LaChia L. Bradshaw said in the statement. press.
NEW JERSEY WOMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR $400K GOFUNDME VIRAL SCAM FOR HOMELESS VETERAN
This photo provided by the Burlington County District Attorney’s Office shows Katelyn McClure. McClure, who pleaded guilty to helping her boyfriend spread a nice story about a homeless veteran who got more than $400,000 in online donations, was sentenced to three years in prison on state robbery charges on Friday, January 6, 2023. in Mount Holly, New Jersey courtroom.
(Burlington County Attorney’s Office via AP)
McClure was accused in 2018 along with her then-boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, of creating a crowdfunding page on the GoFundMe website titled “Paying It Forward,” in which donors could allegedly help a homeless veteran of Philadelphia named Johnny Bobbitt.
The GoFundMe scam began in 2017 after D’Amico took a photo of McClure and Bobbitt standing in front of an exit ramp in Philadelphia. The story attached to the photo details how Bobbitt had spent the last $20 of his to help McClure after he ran out of gas.
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The campaign initially posted a goal of $10,000 to support Bobbitt, which would cover six months’ rent for an apartment, a car and living expenses, among other items. The three conducted numerous newspaper and television interviews, and the donations ultimately surpassed the goal and exceeded $400,000. Both McClure and D’Amico spent the donations on personal expenses, including casino games, a BMW and a trip to Las Vegas.
Kate McClure, 32, charged with Theft by Deception in the $400.00 GoFundMe Scam, with her attorney Jim Gerrow Jr., in State Superior Court, Burlington County Courthouse, Mt. Holly, NJ, April 15, 2019 – A New Jersey judge sentenced McClure to one year and one day in prison for his role in the scam using a false story about Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless veteran.
(David Swanson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, FILE)
All of the donated funds were ultimately spent within a span of only a couple of months, and Bobbitt later brought civil actions against D’Amico and McClure alleging that he only received part of the funds.
Katelyn McClure poses with Johnny Bobbitt for a 2017 photo shared on GoFundMe.
(GoFundMe)
D’Amico pleaded guilty in December 2019 and was sentenced to five years in state prison, and his sentence also coincided with a federal one. Both he and McClure were ordered to fully reimburse GoFundMe.
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Bobbitt pleaded guilty in March 2019 to conspiracy to commit robbery by deception in the second degree and was later admitted to the New Jersey Judiciary Recovery Court program.
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The GoFundMe scam turned out to be the “largest fraud perpetrated through the crowdfunding company” at the time, according to the press release. GoFundMe voluntarily refunded those who donated to the scam page.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
