When crowdsourcing goes wrong! Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his wife, LaTicia Maria, posted a fundraising campaign and baby registry online, requesting donations to help with their newborn baby and to help buy a new home. The federal government said AHT! AHT! They need that restitution money! Deets inside…
Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is speaking out to respond to reports that the federal government ordered the seizure of money from crowdfunding accounts belonging to the former mayor and his wife, LaTicia Maria.
Earlier this year, Kwame and his wife posted a fundraising campaign and a baby registry online, asking for donations to help them buy a new $800,000 home in Florida and “baby shower” gifts for their newborn son, Kyng. The issue? The former mayor still owes more than $2 million in restitution to the city of Detroit as a result of his criminal trial. He also still owes $193,000 to the federal government.
Former president Donald Trump commuted 20 years of his 28-year sentence for federal racketeering and bribery charges in January 2021.
The federal government reportedly sent garnishment notices to the Kilpatricks, PayPal and to the crowdfunding platform Plumfund, seeking up to $193,000 of the money raised. The Plumfund account was reportedly set up to solicit donations of $8,000 so that they could buy a $800,000 home in Orlando, as well as “baby shower” gifts for their son.
The couple – who celebrated their one-year anniversary a few days ago – also set up a PayPal account for Kwame’s book, titled “Off the Grid”.
Kwame responded to the reports, telling Deadline Detroit that he and his wife only raised about $1,600 for a baby shower, and “not a penny” was raised for the Orlando home.
”This was in the ordinary course of having a baby shower,” Kwame told Deadline Detroit. “We couldn’t do it in person because the baby came early, so we had the shower online. If the court wants to take money from our child from a baby shower; I don’t know how you respond to something like that.”
He continued, “It all comes down to $1,600 for baby shower gifts.”
Kwame claims people were sending in donations for baby items – NOT the home they want in Florida and that home was just posted on a “vision board.”
”That’s what people were donating to. The house was on a vision board. We were actually in Orlando, saw this fabulous house. My wife and I said, ‘one day we’re going to have a home like that.’ Not a single penny was raised for it. There was no intention to raise money. No one who ever visited the site thought they were raising money for a home,” he said.
It’s reported U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds had the garnishment notices sent to the Kilpatricks’ home in Georgia. They were required to answer to the court in writing within 10 days. As of Tuesday (July 26th), there was nothing filed on their behalf.
You’ll recall, Kwame was sentenced to 28 years in prison on racketeering and bribery charges in 2013. In January 2021, Trump commuted his sentence and he was set free. He still owes the restitution, so Uncle Sam wants his money.
Thoughts?
Photo: Kwame’s IG
