Katelyn McClure, 32, confessed to her part in a scam that garnered $400,000 using an unreal story regarding a homeless man.
On Thursday, she received a one-year federal prison sentence. McClure will also have to pay restitution and be under supervised release for three years. She could be given more time in prison as she will be sentenced for state charges next month.
In 2017, McClure and her then-boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, made up a story about veteran Johhny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless man. McClure had said that Bobbitt had given her $20 when she no longer had gas while on a highway in Philadelphia.
In reality, federal and state prosecutors say that the group had convened, close to a casino, in Philadelphia, in October of that year, prior to telling their story.
They told the fabricated details to local and national media outlets and started a GoFundMe page. 14,000 donations were received in order to assist Bobbitt. When Bobbitt filed a lawsuit against the couple, stating that they never gave him the funds, an investigation began.
Court documents note that all the funds collected in the campaign were gone by March 2018. A great amount of money had been used by McClure and D’Amico on vehicles and excursions to Las Vegas and New Jersey.
D’Amico is said to have been the group’s leader. In April, he pleaded guilty to federal charges and was given 27 months in prison. He will have to pay restitution and faces sentencing in August on a different state charge.
In 2019, Bobbitt was give five years probation on state charges. Next month, he will be sentenced on federal charges.
