Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Fake Grant Writer Admits Fraud


Here's a news item that caught my eye in the midst of my grant writing frenzy last month. Can you believe it?

Fake Grant Writer Admits Fraud: "TALLAHASSEE, FL – A Hillsborough County woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for committing organized fraud.

Karen Kiehl pled guilty to defrauding more than 60 victims in a grant acquisition scam that ran for approximately 13 months. She was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. An investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Kiehl, 50, falsely promoted herself as a grant writer. She claimed she could guarantee federal and state grants for anything from medical costs to home repair costs and charged approximately one percent of the requested grant amount for her grant writing services. More than 60 victims paid Kiehl approximately $195,000, but none of the grants were written and the victims received no money from Kiehl.

Kiehl was charged with one count of organized fraud, a first-degree felony. She pleaded guilty to the charge in April and was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by 10 years of probation. She must also make restitution to her victims. 6-04-07"
Photo by !Borghetti

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I myself is one of this horrible woman's victims.
She was a church going woman, who said the right thing, and knew exactly how to deliver her presentation. She is the scum of society and preyed on people's hardships and dreams. She needs to be put under the prison, 5 years is definately not long enough. She should of gotten the maximum 30 years. She is sitting on everyone's money and when she gets out, she will go to it, while the victims are out of their hard earned money.

Ruth Wahtera said...

I'm so sorry to hear you got scammed. We all have to be very careful these days. Although, that's probably been true throughout history.
All the best to you.