People Who Get Grants Illegally

Here comes a news story out of Texas about a man - a former policeman with a bad record - and how he was able to get a grant to take care of the disabled and mentally ill.

He started a non-profit agency and applied for a $1 Million grant to transform an apartment building into a property where the mentally ill could be housed. Some of the documents that were required to apply for the grant were alledgedly faked documents - but it was enough for him to get the grant approved and be awarded the grant money.

Later it was found that the property had so many code violations but the man only was issued a warning letter and that was all. The police had been called to the property numerous times and inspectors came and did checks for code violations - both of which result in additional taxpayer costs.

The article goes on to state just exactly how this man was able to obtain the grant funding for his "group" home - from the way he started his non-profit organization up to him applying for and getting the government grant funding. Basically he received a set amount of dollars a day to house and feed wards of the state including those that were mentally ill and/or homeless. The man applied for government grant funds so that he could buy properties from owners and use them as boarding homes. The government grant program that awards theses funds was created to address the issue of there not being enough affordable housing for those that were disabled. Reports show that rental units can take up to 90% of a person's social security income so affordable housing was a much sought after need.

While many valid and legitimate non-profit organizations have benefited from this grant program there are still those that "are in it for the money" and aren't in it for the care of other individuals. It seems that all one has to do to be able to get this kind of grant money is to write a "winning" proposal to the grant committee.

What Happens If You Get Caught Filing Fraudulent Grant Applications?

Here is an excerpt from the article:

In the worst case of scientific fakery to come to light in two decades, a top obesity researcher who long worked at the University of Vermont admitted yesterday that he fabricated data in 17 applications for federal grants to make his work seem more promising, helping him win nearly $3 million in government funding.

Former University of Vermont researcher Eric Poehlman faces possible prison time, $196,000 in fines and restitution, and a lifetime ban on federal funding in what investigators say is the worst US scientific fraud in 20 years. Under a plea agreement, Poehlman will correct or retract 10 published research papers

Beware of Grant Scams!

Here is a link to a previous post that I made on another one of my blogs

Beware of Grant Scams!

A very good warning sign is if these companies guarentee that you will get the/a grant. If they say this then you should be wary of them because winning a grant award can't be guarenteed. Your grant application has to be reviewed and if it best meets the objectives of the grant entity awarding the grant then it is more than likely that you will get the grant money.