Katelyn McClure, the New Jersey woman who raised more than $400,000 in online donations after falsely telling people she was helping a homeless veteran, has been sentenced to three years on state theft charges.
McClure, who didn’t appear in court Friday because she is serving a federal prison sentence in Connecticut, now faces a state prison term that will run concurrently, CBS News reports. The 32-year-old, who worked with the transportation department, is also barred from working again as a New Jersey public employee.
As Blavity reported, McClure and her then-boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, first appeared to inspire the world when they shared a good Samaritan story in 2017. The couple said homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr. gave his last $20 to McClure when her car ran out of gas on a Philadelphia highway.
The story went viral as the couple joined Bobbitt and arranged for media interviews. McClure and D’Amico also launched a GoFundMe campaign, claiming to pay it forward after Bobbitt helped them.
The campaign raised more than $400,000 from approximately 14,000 donors in about a month.
Bobbitt later sued the couple, accusing them of not giving him the money. Investigators eventually determined the couple had spent most of the money by March 2018, using the funds for a BMW, a recreational vehicle and trips to casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey.
Police also reviewed the couple’s texts to a friend while discussing the scam.
“Okay so wait the gas part is completely made up, but the guy isn’t. I had to make something up to make people feel bad,” McClure said in one text, according to CNN.
D’Amico, 43, was sentenced to five years in state prison after pleading guilty in December 2019. His term runs concurrently with an earlier federal sentence. In addition, the couple has been ordered to reimburse GoFundMe fully.
Bobbitt was also charged in 2018 for orchestrating the scheme with the couple, and he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft by deception in 2019. He was sentenced to a five-year special probation period that also includes drug treatment.
Investigators said Bobbitt had received $75,000 from the fundraiser.
