Todd Kelly may face federal charges

Jan 5, 2007 05:52 PM EST

Feds may prosecute Kelly for faking ALS





By Eric Flack

(LOUISVILLE) -- WAVE 3 has been asked to cooperate in a new federal investigation into Todd Kelly. The former radio personality already faces theft charges in state court for faking ALS and stealing as much as $150,000 in donations meant for other ALS victims. WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack has the latest as Kelly's case moves to the federal level.

For more than five years, Kelly claimed to have ALS. He then raised as much as $150,000 from people across the city, state and region to fight the disease. But state investigators say Kelly was a fake.

He doesn't have ALS, and records show he spent all the money his ALS foundation raised on himself -- on everything from liquor to limos to trips.

In the process, he fooled a lot of people into helping him, including our own Dawne Gee, who once considered herself a personal friend of Kelly's.

"Unfortunately, I probably emceed everything that he had," Dawne said. That's because we were friends, and I certainly believe in helping people with muscular dystrophy."

When asked how she felt about being duped into helping Kelly raise money for his bogus foundation, Dawne had this to say: "I don't have regret I got pulled in with Todd; I have regret that any person would ever fake a disease like ALS that so many people are dying from, and take money from needy people."

On Thursday, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office met with Dawne for nearly 90 minutes as part of their federal investigation.

Kelly and his mom, Sybil Smith, already face theft charges in state court for the alleged scam.

But WAVE 3's legal analyst Bard Adams says federal charges would up the ante in a big way. "You will have more penalty available in the state case than the federal case. Possibilities of probation or shock probation in the state case -- you don't have those in the federal case, you don't have that in federal court."

State prosecutors say Kelly turned down a plea bargain last summer that would have kept his case out of federal court. And should the US Attorney's office file charges within the next couple weeks, the feds will get jurisdiction over the case.

That could end up doubling Kelly's prison time if convicted.

"I will tell you if the proof is what the media says that it is," Adams said, "he probably should have jumped at that in order to keep the feds out of this case."

Gee said she told the federal investigators everything she knew, but had little insight into what they seemed most interested in: tracking all that money.

"That's just something that didn't have anything to do with me. I was just the smiling face that welcomed people into the door when they spent their money. I just didn't have anything to do with the money."

The U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI had no comment on the investigation into Kelly. They had previously served WAVE 3 with a grand jury subpoena for the stories we reported uncovering Kelly's alleged scam.

Kelly has been held at metro corrections for months, unable to come up with the $10,000 bond to secure his release before he stands trial.

His trial in Jefferson County is set to begin February 13th.

Online Reporter: Eric Flack

Online Producer: Michael Dever
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.as...96218&nav=0RZF