January 13, 2005
Do Not Mess With Our Beloved Mercy Corps
FBI Arrests Pennsylvania Scammer
It was a teaser on KGW's late-night newscast that brought this story to our attention, followed by a quick Google News search to find the details, beginning with a report from NBC Nightly News which must have aired earlier this evening.
The investigative trail ended Thursday with the arrest of a Pittsburgh man, an unemployed painter named Matthew Schmieder.
In court documents, investigators say Schmieder sent out 800,000 e-mails, claiming he was raising money for tsunami aid. In fact, the FBI says, he told agents he thought it would be OK to keep the money to fix his car and pay bills, if he gave some of it to charity. Everybody needs money, agents say he told them.
There's also an article from the Post-Gazette out of Pittsburgh itself. Schmieder, it turns out, was posing as Portland's own Mercy Corps, which is what makes this a local story.
That's all there really is to this story, except to say that Schmieder reportedly made all of $150 in these scammed donations.
Well, maybe there's one other thing to say, directed towards Schmieder and any other morally-stunted vultures out there: Do. Not. Mess. With. Our. Beloved. Mercy Corps.