The sentencing of a woman who made up a feel-good story and raised more than $400,000 as part of a GoFundMe scam has been delayed until September.
Katelyn McClure, 29, has pleaded guilty to one count of theft by deception in the second degree in Burlington County, New Jersey, and she is now expected to be sentenced on September 16, said Joel Bewley, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman.
The charge, as well as a federal charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, stemmed from a viral 2017 story in which she supposedly ran out of gas and was stranded on I-95 in Philadelphia.
A homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., supposedly saw her and gave her his last $20 for gas, and McClure and her then-boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, posted about the “good deed” on social media and started a GoFundMe to raise money for him.
But the feel-good story was not true. Bobbitt pleaded guilty at the local level to one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and both Bobbitt and McClure pleaded guilty to a federal charge as well.
Both Bobbitt and McClure have agreed to testify against D’Amico as part of their plea deal. D’Amico was indicted in May in Burlington County court on six charges, including conspiracy, financial facilitation of criminal activity and theft by deception, the prosecutor’s office said.
D’Amico’s attorney, Mark Davis, said his client was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges. His next hearing in the case is set for August 26.
