Kwame Kilpatrick will have to put his plans to buy a new home on pause after a federal judge ordered the seizure of funds from his PayPal and Plumfund accounts.
The former Detroit mayor still owes the government $193,303.61 and they want their shmoney.
Kwame and his wife, Laticia, launched a crowdfunding campaign and a baby registry in June.
The couple asked for donations to help them purchase an $800,000 home in Florida and care for their newborn.
When the feds learned of the fundraiser, they sent garnish notices to the couple, PayPal, and the crowdfunding platform Plumfund seeking up to $193,000 of the money that was raised.
Former US Attorney Matthew Schneider isn’t surprised by Kwame’s attempt to raise money through the public. Nor is he surprised by the government coming to get it.
He said, “If you looked up the definition of ‘brazen’ in the dictionary, we would find a big picture of Kwame Kilpatrick. So that is not all surprising.”
“It’s typically not too difficult for the government to identify those places and require you to pay back,” Schneider added. “Especially in a situation like this where Mr. Kilpatrick is so public about what he’s doing.”
“I guess it’s the equivalent of taking a big flag and hoisting it up on your roof and saying ‘Here’s the money. I’ve got it. Come and get it, government,'” Schneider said.
Notices were sent on July 11 and Kwame Kilpatrick and the Mrs. have 20 days to request a hearing and argue for an exemption.
I’m not exactly sure what exemption they will be able to argue at this point.
Schneider had one more thing to add:
This is more of a consumer protection message for people to realize that if you are going to give money away to somebody, you better be sure they are deserving of the money and they are the actual recipient.
In this particular case, it looks like although Mr. Kilpatrick is the temporary recipient, this money is going to be garnished and in the long run, he won’t be the recipient.
Kwame Kilpatrick was released from prison in January 2021 after then president Donald Trump commuted his sentence.
Kilpatrick had served seven years of a 28-year sentence on racketeering, extortion, bribery, and other charges related to several crimes when he was Detroit mayor from 2002 to 2008.
Feds Watching.
Source: WXYZ 7 Detroit
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