The New Jersey woman who concocted a story about a homeless man giving her his last $20 after she ran out of gas was sentenced last week to one year and one day in prison.
Katelyn McClure, 32, previously pleaded guilty to one federal count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for a GoFundMe scam that raised almost $400,000 from people who thought they were donating to a good Samaritan.
Along with the prison time, McClure was also ordered to pay restitution and serve three years of supervised release.
In 2017, McClure went viral with her story about getting stranded on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and Johnny Bobbitt, Jr., who gave her $20. She and then-boyfriend Mark D’Amico shared the encounter online, complete with a roadside photo of her and Bobbitt, and started the GoFundMe, promising to get the homeless veteran off the street.
The fundraiser collected about $367,000 from more than 14,000 donations.
Then, McClure and D’Amico went wild, buying a BMW, jewelry, purses and funding a New Year’s Eve trip to Las Vegas, according to prosecutors. Bobbitt only saw about $25,000.
Eventually, their story unraveled: McClure and D’Amico had stumbled across Bobbitt a month early while he was panhandling and came up with the plan.
D’Amico previously pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to 27 months in prison in April. Bobbitt also pleaded guilty and is still awaiting sentencing.
All three co-conspirators also faced state charges.
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