$400K GoFundMe Hoaxer From Burlington Co. Sentenced

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ — Mark D'Amico, one of three people who concocted a GoFundMe scam that collected more than $400,000, was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for his role in the scheme, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.

The sentence will run concurrently with the sentence of 27 months he received in April in a U.S. District Court, 6abc said.

The April court date also resulted in D'Amico being ordered to pay nearly $402,000 in restitution, pay a $20,000 fine and undergo gambling, drug and mental health counseling, a U.S. District Court spokesperson said at the time the April sentence was handed down.

D'Amico will also be on probation for three years and had previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, authorities have also previously said.

"People genuinely wanted to believe [the scam] was true," Burlington County LaChia L. Bradshaw said after Friday's sentencing. "But it was all a lie, and it was illegal. Our office is pleased to bring justice for the more than 14,000 kind-hearted people who thought they were helping someone who was living in a desperate situation."

Katelyn McClure, of Bordentown, and another one of the individuals involved in the scheme, was sentenced on July 22 to 1 year and 1 day in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office previously announced.

McClure also received three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution, according to authorities. McClure had previously pleaded guilty in federal court in March 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to authorities.

The sentences and fines spur from a scheme the pair, along with a homeless man from Philadephia named Johnny Bobbitt, Jr., came up with that had Bobbitt spend his last $20 to allow McClure to fill up her gas after she broke down on her way into Philadelphia, according to authorities.

"In reality, McClure never ran out of gas and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 for her," the U.S. Attorney's Office said after McClure's July court appearance. "D'Amico and McClure allegedly conspired to create the false story to obtain money from donors."

The trio's story gained national attention, swelling the amount in Bobbitt's GoFundMe account to more than $402,000 from more than 14,000 donors in less than 3 weeks, authorities said.

Things began to unravel in August 2018, when Bobbitt sued D'Amico and McClure on grounds that they were not giving him access to the money that was raised for him through the campaign, according to authorities.

At about the same time, 6abc.com reported that McClure had posted pictures online from events that took place after the GoFundMe fundraiser, including a party in Las Vegas, helicopter rides over the Grand Canyon and from the front row of a Broadway show.

Bobbitt is still awaiting sentencing, authorities have previously said.

This story contains reporting by Anthony Bellano.

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