CLEVELAND– A former Cleveland radio personality was sentenced for profiting from a fundraiser intended for a woman with cystic fibrosis.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan sentenced Joseph Spooner to 30 months in jail on Thursday. He must also pay $16,000 in restitution.
Spooner, better known as J.G. Spooner, was a producer at 92.3 The Fan and the in-arena host for the Monsters hockey team. In November, he pleaded guilty to money laundering and theft charges.
Court documents said he stole more than $7,300 from a GoFundMe account set up for a woman with cystic fibrosis. He offered to use his role at the radio station to promote the fundraiser and make it go viral, prosecutors said.
When the family started asking about the money, Spooner blamed GoFundMe. But prosecutors said he was spending the cash to live beyond his means.
“Everyone knew Joseph Spooner as a radio personality, but I don’t think anyone knew that he was a heartless con man,” prosecutors said on Thursday.
In December, Spooner was charged in a second scam. According to court documents, he took rent payments from seven people for a house in Cleveland he didn’t own. The alleged crimes happened between July 28 and Oct. 22.
More stories on J.G. Spooner here