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Alleged GoFundMe Scammer Suspended From Her Job
Kate McClure, boyfriend Mark D'Amico and homeless Marine veteran Johnny Bobbitt have been charged with conspiracy and theft by deception for an allegedly fraudulent scheme that raised more than $400,000.
The drama behind an alleged GoFundMe scam involving a homeless veteran who supposedly gave a stranded motorist the last of his money keeps on thickening.
The New Jersey woman charged along with two others for allegedly scamming donors out of more than $400,000 with a fake story has now been suspended from her state job.
Katelyn McClure was a receptionist with the New Jersey Department of Transportation. A DOT spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that McClure is on "suspension status," but declined to say if it was a paid or unpaid suspension.
McClure, her former boyfriend Mark D'Amico and homeless Marine veteran Johnny Bobbitt have been charged with conspiracy and theft by deception for allegedly concocting a feel-good story about Bobbitt giving McClure his last $20 when her car ran out of gas in November 2017. The crowdfunding effort, ostensibly to get Bobbitt off the streets, raised more than $400,000. However, authorities say McClure and D'Amico spent a large portion of the money on themselves, funding the purchases of luxury items and casino trips.
"I told Kate this was inevitable once the charges had been made public by the prosecutor," her lawyer, James Gerrow, told NJ.com regarding the suspension. "Unfortunately, it is standard operating procedure for a governmental entity. Yet, it adds to the traumatizing impact this case has had on Kate."
Gerrow has said D'Amico was the real mastermind of the fraud and McClure was duped into playing along. D'Amico's lawyer have denied such claims.
Last week, McClure's team released an audio recording, allegedly between the couple, that they say bolsters their claim that D'Amico was the driving force behind the scheme.
"You started the whole f---ing thing. You did everything. I had no part in any of this, and I'm the one taking the f---ing fall," the woman, alleged to be McClure, can be heard saying in the recording.
A man, allegedly D'Amico, replies, "You don't go to jail for lying on TV, you dumb f--k."
Back in September, the New Jersey State Attorney General began questioning the online fundraising campaign as Bobbitt and the couple were engaged in a legal fight over the money, according to a USA Today report.
GoFundMe has said it plans to refund all the donations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
[Photo: Associated Press]
