Burlington County, NJ Given More Prison Time for GoFundMe Scam

Katelyn McClure of Burlington County was sentenced to three years in state prison for her involvement in a fake fundraising scam.

In late 2017, Katelyn McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico faked a story about connecting with a homeless vet named Johnny Bobbitt at a gas station in Philadelphia. Bobbitt supposedly gave McClure the last $20 he had to fill her vehicle's empty gas tank and help her get home, People.com reported.

McClure and D'Amico then set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to help Bobbitt get back on his feet, and pay back his good deed.

But it was all a scam that even Bobbitt was in on all along.

We first got wind of something fraudulent when the Bordentown couple was accused of spending more than $400,000 generated by the GoFundMe page on elaborate vacations and cars. But the real motivation for all three was revealed that they made up the whole scenario for profit, and criminal charges quickly followed, including theft by deception, and conspiracy for defrauding more than 14,000 donors.

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Last week, McClure was given an additional three years in state prison, News 12 New Jersey reports, after previously being sentenced to a year and one day in federal prison.

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At the time of her federal sentencing, McClure reportedly asked the judge overseeing for leniency, 6abc.com reports, apologizing to the court stating, "I had every intention of helping Johnny and I never had any intentions of letting it get as far as it did." She was also ordered to pay restitution to the donors she stole from.

In case you were wondering, her boyfriend Mark D'Amico learned his fate earlier this year, receiving more than two years behind bars.

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