Federal Grant Department Health and Human Services
Queja 17149 Detalles

I received a phone call from "Karen" mid afternoon yesterday telling me that I had been selected from thousands of individuals to receive federal grant money in the amount of $7800.00; i just needed to deposit $200.00 at the local Western Union to complete the transaction; it must be cash. I asked how it was that I was selected for this grant and she replied, the Government conducts demographic studies annualy and I was selected for the grant; it would be a non-refundable 5 year program! I made the $200.00 deposit while talking to "karen" on my cell phone. she walked me through the process of filling out the forms and waited for confirmation that she had received the money. At 5:45 pm I received a text message from MK Roy (#558-63) that he had picked up my first money transfer. At 6:08 pm DC Guvya texted me (#558-63 - same number) that he had picked up my money transfer. Both text messages included a line that said, "Text stop to stop sms notices." I don't know what this means, if anything.
"Karen" then transfered me to "Steven" who told me the money could not be used for illegal purposes and that i would have to have annual receipts to prove how the money was spent. i would also receive a W2 (which actually should be a 1099) and that this grant had a one time tax of 10.2 %: $786.00 that I must pay now to receive my money. "Steven" also stated that this grant program was for 5 years. i would be receiving $7800.00 a year for the next 4 years; this money was nonrefundable and would not be taxed again. The future checks would be mailed directly to me.
The tax transaction had to be completed by 6 pm that day. It was almost 5 pm and my bank was closing. I hurried to the bank and withdrew the money. After having made this deposit "karen" told me I now needed to make a $275.00 deposit for attorney fees before the "Money Transfer Control Number" could be confirmed and the money could be released. At that time the banks were closed and i could not complete the transaction. "Karen" told me she would hold my file until the next day and if I called her back after 11 am est we could complete the transaction and I would be receiving $8390.00, which refunded my $200.00 deposit and a partial amount of the taxes paid. When I got home I checked on line for Federal Grant Scams and found out I was duped! HA...something I Never thought could happen to me...this is the information that I have from the calls: "Karen" and "Steve" were both heavy with and Indian accent. The money was going to India. The recipient's name was, MK Roy for the first two deposits; the third recipient's name was DC Guvta. the telephone number given to me, which I called to speak with "Karen" is 202.684.3436. The sender's name on my receiving end of this transaction (where the grant money was coming from) was Nick Foster, Washington DC, USA.
I had applied for a Federal Grant so I was not suspicious at first. When I went to make the second withdraw i started to feel something wasn't right; I should have listened to my instincts at that time but carried on...before I made the last deposit of $786.00 I questioned "Karen" again about the legitiamacy of this grant. I was assured that this was not a scam. please do not get caught up in such a deception: hind sight can sometimes be painful, if not simply humiliating.
I am going to call "Karen" this morning after 11 am and try to get my money back. Wish me luck and let me know if there is a way to find these people, press criminal charges and receive restitution to the unwittingly nieve people who don't deserve to be conned in such a way...myself included.