Advertisement
Monday, February 11, 2008

Louisville DJ who faked illness gets 10-15 years in prison

ToddKelly Louisville DJ Todd Kelly told listeners in 2001 he was stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and began raising money for for the "Todd Kelly Foundation" with "80-cents of every dollar going to scientific research." The only problem was that Kelly, whose real name was Todd Smith and was the former PD at WDJX (99.7) didn't have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and all the money collected went to such items as vacations, limousine rides, alcohol, and paying personal expenses. The FBI reports Smith will spend the next 10-15 years in prison, and must pay restitution of $74,000 at 12% interest. The FBI outlines the details of his arrest here. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Kelly said "I deceived the good people of this Louisville community" at his sentencing. One of the saddest chapters of this story is Kelly's profile on the "Ride for Life" website, an nonprofit organization that helps people with ALS describing a 7-year old boy who gave $1 to Kelly's fake charity.

Tags: None

Previous and Next Stories

Advertisement
Advertisement