The mother of a 14-year-old who died in a hit-and-run outside of Ocean City reached a plea agreement requiring her to resign from the foundation she created to honor her son.
Tiffany Knupp will serve a year of unsupervised probation, pay $6,500 restitution and resign from the foundation. She entered an Alford plea on Tuesday in Worcester County, meaning she acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict her without admitting guilt in the case.
Knupp was charged with nine counts of embezzling funds from the organization she founded after her son Gavin Knupp was killed in a hit-and-run in 2022. The case stirred outrage in the Ocean City community. Signs that read “Do it for Gavin” and “Justice for Gavin” popped up at shops and restaurants. More than 20,000 people joined a Facebook group to demand action from authorities as the investigation stretched for months.
Prosecutors said she stole $12,625 from the Gavin Knupp Foundation and Ocean City’s Shaka Pool Bar and Grill, which held a fundraiser for the foundation. She deposited a check from a company that sold merchandise on behalf of the foundation into her bank account and used part of the money to pay for a divorce attorney.
Tiffany Knupp also mishandled funds raised for the family of another teenager who died in a car crash. In February 2023, the foundation raised over $47,000 and donated just over $8,000, prosecutors said.
Thomas Maronick, Jr., Tiffany Knupp’s attorney, said in a statement Wednesday that Knupp has already paid the restitution and stepped down from the foundation.
“We are very glad for Tiffany Knupp and her family that the court agreed with us, and that Tiffany will not have to face trial and has not been found guilty of anything,” Maronick said. “She can now get on with her life.”
He added that Knupp looks forward to a future resolution of the case surrounding her son’s death.
On July 11, 2022, Gavin Knupp and his sister Summer Knupp, 17, were on their way home when the 14-year-old asked to stop the car so he could take a video of a taxidermy buck’s head by the side of the road. Police now say Tyler Mailloux, 22, was driving the Mercedes that hit and killed Gavin Knupp.
Gavin Knupp’s family launched the foundation a few months after his death to honor his life, raising funds for organizations like the local surf club. Family and friends described Gavin Knupp as a warm boy who loved surfing, skateboarding, hunting and fishing.
According to court records, Raymond Knupp is the foundation’s vice president, though he previously told The Baltimore Banner he’s no longer involved with the foundation. Tiffany and Raymond Knupp filed for divorce in March 2019.
The foundation also pledged to match a “Chili Cook Off” fundraiser for the family of Carter Figgs, a 16-year-old who was killed in a car crash in Salisbury in October 2023. Instead of matching the $3,200, Tiffany Knupp issued the family a $4,200 check, which was over $2,000 short of the funds raised at the restaurant plus the foundation’s agreement to match it.
She also deposited a $1,925 check from Shirts Fast LLC, which sold merchandise through their website and shared the proceeds with the foundation, into her personal bank account. She was supposed to have deposited the money into the foundation’s bank account.