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FTC Shuts Down Alleged Government Grant Scams

The Federal Trade Commission is moving to shut down a group of web sites that appear to be operating government grant scams.

Last month the FTC got a court order to at least temporarily to shut down web sites affiliated with companies including Grant Connect LLC of Reno, Nev., and individuals including Rachel Cook, James Gray, Steven Henriksen, and Juliette Kimoto. A court hearing for the FTC’s lawsuit against the group is set for next month.

As described in the FTC’s complaint, Grant Connect web sites including grantconnectoffer.com were set up similarly to other government grant sites that we’ve written about before, including usagovernmentgrants.org and neverpayitback.com.

All have claimed to offer easy access to government grant programs as a money-making scheme. In reality government grant programs are usually highly competitive and available mainly to universities, non-profits and others in a position to achieve a public policy goal.

Ordering the grantconnector service also subjected people to charges of up to $70 a month that were only disclosed in small print. Like the other sites, the prominently displayed pricing would lead one to believe that they were only paying a couple of dollars for access to grantconnector’s information.