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Feds order Kwame Kilpatrick to turn over crowdsourced funds
According to federal paperwork, Kilpatrick owes about $193,000 to the federal government, specifically to the IRS. But the two accounts set up by Kilpatricks have raised some flags.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - After former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his wife set up a fund raise money to buy a condo in Florida, it made a lot of waves in the Motor City. Now the IRS knows and they're telling the Kilpatricks to pay up.
A crowdfunding page from his wife Leticia is requesting donations to help welcome their son, Kyng Malachi Kilpatrick. On the Plumfund.com page the authors celebrate the arrival of Kyng.
The problem? Kwame still owes the city of Detroit a lot of money.
The fundraiser was described as a sort of "vision board" by Kilpatricks. But a lot of people saw it differently and almost $2,000 was raised towards an $8,000 goal.
Now the feds want their money and are going to garnish the money from the Kilpatricks.
How much does Kwame Kilpatrick owe?
According to federal paperwork, Kilpatrick owes about $193,000 to the federal government, specifically to the IRS. But the two accounts set up by Kilpatricks have raised some flags.
One was a PayPal account which was set up for Kilpatrick's book, titled "Off the Grid". He's selling it for $19.99 and it's all on the up-and-up. But he still owes money. Any income must be accounted and, according to the feds, he's not doing that.
The other problem was the Plumfund.com page that his wife, Leticia, set up.
The account was used to solicit donations for $8,000 so that they could buy an $800,000 condo in Orlando.
However, any money earned by Kilpatrick or someone associated with him must be accounted for by the feds. That's a garnishment because he still owes the restitution.
How does Kwame Kilpatrick's clemency factor in?
It doesn't. When former President Donald Trump granted Kilpatrick clemency in 2021, all it did was end his prison sentence.
That took it down from 28 years to time served. Restitution wasn't part of the deal.
Kilpatrick still owes $193,000.