The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida are taking action against Grant Bae and its owner, Traeshonna P. Graham, a COVID-19 scammer preying on minority-owned small businesses seeking pandemic relief. The complaint alleges that the fictitious grant-writing service scammed each business out of thousands of dollars with false promises of easy access to “guaranteed” grant funding and COVID-19 economic benefits that did not materialize. In response to a complaint filed by the FTC and the State of Florida, a federal court has temporarily shut down the company and frozen the defendants’ assets.
The complaint alleges that Florida-based Grant Bae violated multiple laws, including the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, the FTC Act, and the Florida Deceptive Unfair Trade Practices Act by targeting minority-owned small businesses with claims that they could access millions of dollars in grant funding if they paid for the company’s services.
“These scammers targeted minority-owned businesses and misused public funds meant to support honest businesses during the pandemic,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Working with our state partners and with new authority granted by Congress, we will continue to shut down frauds that prey on people during the pandemic.”
According to the complaint, C Lee Enterprises LLC and Graham, who refers to herself as “The Grant Bae,” have marketed grant writing and…
