Woman gets 3 years in fake Good Samaritan fundraiser for homeless veterans – The Morning Call

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ — A New Jersey woman who pleaded guilty to helping her boyfriend spread a feel-good story about a homeless veteran who raised more than $400,000 in online donations has been charged with 3 state larceny charges. was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment.

Caitlin McClure, 32, did not appear in court in Mount Holly on Friday, according to Burlington County prosecutors. Her state prison term will run concurrently, and the former transportation department employee will be barred from working again as a public employee in New Jersey.

Prosecutors allege that McClure and her then-boyfriend Mark D’Amico, homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr., were accused of murdering McClure in November 2017 when her car ran out of gas on an interstate. He claimed to have given him the last $20 and said he came up with the story of the Good Samaritan. Philadelphia exit ramp.

The three gave newspaper and television interviews and solicited donations, ostensibly to support Bobbitt. Prosecutors said the campaign raised more than $400,000 from about 14,000 donors in about a month, making it the largest scam conducted through crowdfunding platforms at the time.

Authorities launched an investigation after Bobbitt sued the couple for not handing over the money. They finally determined that all the money had been spent by his March 2018, with McClure and D’Amico spending most of it on campervans, BMWs, and trips to casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey.

D’Amico, 43, pleaded guilty in December 2019 and was sentenced to five years in state prison. He and his McClure were ordered to repay the GoFundMe in full. Bobbitt was sentenced to federal and state probation.