http://app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ I entered nursing school at the age of 17 years old. I turned 18 less than two weeks later. I was the youngest nursing student ever accepted into St. Joseph's Nursing Program. After spending four years working at the hospital on a GYN floor and then a new teen floor, I decided to go back to school. I wanted to teach health and sex education. The rest of my career has been in public health, until 1986 when I answered an interesting ad. The ad turned out to be an experimental position for an AIDS Coordinator. The job did not have description, just tasks which needed to be done anyway I saw fit. With unbelievable energy, passion and drive (and basically no budget) I became very personally successful. I conducted the first AIDS & Prostitution Study. I wrote the protocol for HIV Risk Reduction and was fortunate enough to receive assistance and education from Gay Men’s Health Crisis in NY. I helped write the Contact Tracing for HIV\AIDS program for the State of NJ. In 1989 I left NY and NJ for Florida and began working for the Health Department in Palm Beach County. I was selected as one of the health educators for the new Palm Beach County’s Health Education Risk Reduction Program. I wrote the HIV\AIDS Risk Reduction Program for first (and sometimes second) time sex offenders, which has now become a state statute. Additionally I was very fortunate in having the opportunity to be part of and appeaaring in a FOX documentary titled, “Blind Justice” which featured Pat Pepper and former Madame Attorney General Janet Reno. In 1999 I was selected by the Merit Systems Board for the Centers for Disease Control as a GS-12 Supervisory Public Heath Advisor. When I returned to Florida I took a position in a small non-profit agency in Daytona Beach. This agency turned out to be the nightmare of all nightmares, The AIDS Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Co. I discovered embezzlement in just about every contract program, but it began with the HUD (HOPWA, housing for AIDS patients. Due to my whistle blowing (because they ignored all the pleads from me to clean things up) this agency retaliated in ways that are unthinkable. I was attacked and beaten in my own office twice in one day, while the supervisor watched and prevented me from calling 911. My home was robbed while my son and I slept. My home was in a beautiful gated community, basically unable to break into. I was eventually fired, and because my whistleblower protection rights were not enforced or protected, I lost everything. But I would have never believed this agency’s attorneys would go as far as they did to convince a Volusia County judge that my allegations of embezzlement were “delusional” therefore making me unable to make parental decisions. I lost my son. There was no one from DCF, no psychiatrist, or psychologist. There wasn’t even an angry neighbor, just a former employee from The AIDS Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Co. who was out on bail for criminal activities (which were never brought up in court), their attorney’s office partner and the judge. I wasn’t there, I was having a surgical procedure. I haven’t seen my child in three years because this County will not admit they screwed up so very badly. I am on my 5th judge. They have all recused themselves at various times during one Hearing or another. Thankfully, Congressman Wexler of Boca Raton convinced OIG in 2004 to re-open my case of embezzlement allegations, because the second investigation proved the allegations valid. I just want my son home. Since when did this become a circus where I have to prove something that has already been proven? Now I have to wait for the US attorney’s office to prosecute these fiends, for my son to come home. Apparently in Volusia Family Court anyone can spew a psychiatric diagnosis, if it’s the one the judge wants to hear. Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:37:24 PST en-us Aidpage(SM) http://whistleblower-compensation.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ I am a Whistleblower. I didn't plan on it, I simply have a hard time ignoring the needs of AIDS patients and clients, especially when federal ,state and private contract money has been approved and dispensed for them. I was the first AIDS Coordinator in the 80's. I remember vividly as a young nurse begging for the smallest benefits for my patients. I discovered embezzlement in the non-profit agency where I was working as a senior PAC case manager for AIDS clients, in Daytona Beach, FL. That was in 2002. I reported it to the director of the agency, who promptly fired the coordinator who was in charge of that particular grant (under HUD the HOPWA contract). However, the embezzlement continued and overflowed in other programs and contracts. I reported this to the various federal agencies responsible for the funds. The first OIG (Office of the Inspector General) agent assigned to investigate my allegations took 18 months to investigate. He didn't even make a field visit, he simply asked the person I alleged was embezzling funds to "FAX" him the documents he wanted. He closed the case and left me completely abandoned. Because of that I lost everything, my job, home, possessions and the most precious and important thing in my life. Now I have to start my life all over again with nothing. I was brutally attacked twice in one day in my own office by a subordinate co-worker wheeling a knife who was angry that I reported the theft. She was afraid she’d have to go back to “blue-collar“ work, I was the only one in the agency (I found out later) with degrees as well as being a nurse. The second agent is the one who reported my allegations proved valid and has taken 2 years with the investigation, and assisting the US Attorney's Office. Congressman Wexler in Boca Raton, FL asked that HUD's OIG re-open the case based on my history working with HIV+ and AIDS patients and my health education risk reduction programs Thankfully they did. In January of 2005, I received a letter from DC stating my allegations proved valid and a corresponding investigation with the state had also begun.The Whistleblower Project in DC gave me the name of two attorneys who are taking over the employment part of the case, but even they are confused. Florida states I am completely fed, and the feds say the agency was under the county health dept, so I'm state. I didn't even have a fork left from my beautiful loft on the lake, and they are arguing as to who is responsible for making me "whole" as the Whistleblower Statute promises. It is going to sicken me but I have to tell you I lost my 11 year old son because of this. I have an attorney who is trying to get him back to me. On January 29, 2007, he will have been gone 3 years. My ex-husband who abused and abandoned us in 1995 left Florida for IL and never returned. He never contacted my son or me. My son never received so much as a birthday card from him or his family in IL. Suddenly during the trial for the attacks in my office, he appears at my door (8 years later) with his new wife waving a picture of her (their) new home in IL. and represented by an attorney who shares the same office in Daytona Beach with the attorney defending the agency I Whist blew on. There are thousands of attorneys in Daytona Beach he has been in IL for 8+ years and yet he insists this was a coincidence. He had a former agency employee at the Hearing (which took place while I was in the hospital for a surgical procedure) who said I was "delusional" about the embezzlement allegations. This was in 2004, the new agent proved me correct in January of 2005. The judge, the attorney and my ex decided ex parte that I was unable to make parental decisions. Without the divorce file (showing the abuse and restraining orders from the original county, which was Palm Beach) the judge gave my child away to an abusive ex who dodged being a responsible parent all these years. He was awarded temporary custody, and the right to make ALL decisions for my son without my knowledge or input. All of this insanity was because of my Whistle blowing. The ex took Zak from me as he was holding onto my leg and kissing the shoe of the sheriff begging not to go. That's the last visual I have of my child, although I have legal custody I cannot see him and our phone calls ( which began after he was gone 10 weeks) are taped. If the ex doesn't like what I'm saying or I start to tell Zak what is now going on he hangs the phone up. This man was gone for 8+ years and never made an attempt to see Zak or call him or send him a card, now he wants to take the only thing I love in the world away. They knew I wasn't delusional, they knew I was telling the truth about this agency. There is no reason to sabotage a job a single mother loves for any reason. At the hearing (where I wasn't represented by an attorney, or even present) there was no doctor or therapist, no one from DCF, no abuse or neglect charges or even allegations, just an angry former employee, a “suspicious” attorney and a disturbed ex husband. Apparently in Volusia County’s Family Court anyone can portray themselves as a psychiatrist or psychologist or even a representative of DCF. All you need is a vicious attorney and a scanned picture of a row house in IL. The agency was finally closed down this summer, 2006. But Zak is still gone. Four judges in Volusia County have recused themselves in the middle of hearings instead of vacating the original moronic judge's ruling. The closing of the agency "The AIDS Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Co., Inc" was reported in the Daytona Beach News Journal and still this court will not give me my child. They will not admit they made a horrible mistake. This new judge (the 5th one) wants to start from the beginning as if I was newly divorced. I need help and no one knows what to do. There is no case law on what has happened to Zak and me. My baby even attempted suicide and was Bakered. I think everyone reading this should know how many laws and statutes there are to protect people like me, but when it comes down to initiating the compensation, recuperation and protection everyone seems to walk around confused. I appealed this insane judge's ruling and wrote my own appellant brief, but I lost on grounds of venue which were more insane than taking away a child and giving him to someone who has been out of the picture for 8+ years, who has a history of abuse and violence, and was ordered by three Palm Beach County judges to seek and complete long term therapy. Volusia County Family Court accepted the psychiatric diagnosis of a former AIDS Coalition employee and their “too close for comfort” attorney. Because that is all they could come up with, there was no one else to say anything untoward about my parenting skills, considering I was the only parent in Zak‘s life. At one time I worked three jobs to keep Zak in a great pre-school. I worked triage as a nurse from home on weekends to give him the extras. Fortunately, Congressman Wexler’s office listened to me and fortunately attorney Fenner has stood by me since 2005, and fortunately the new OIG agent did (and continues to do) his job and really cares. Because there is no incentive given to Whistleblowers to do the right thing in Volusia County. And I still walk around wondering what happened? I lost everything I ever owned and loved over this. The irony is I wound up losing my home so my AIDS patients and clients wouldn’t lose theirs. I pray everyday (for Zak’s sake especially) that I did the right thing. I miss him so much that sometimes I can't even breathe. Sun, 7 Jan 2007 04:59:30 PST http://comment.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" The only reporter brave enough to investigate and report on what was going on with The AIDS Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Co., Inc. was Anne Geggis of The Daytona Beach News Journal. What is so repulsive about this agency and what I discovered can be found in the CDC stats, is Florida (aside from I believe Virginia) is the only state which has more people living with AIDS than those living with an HIV+ diagnosis. That give you an idea on how Florida has managed to allow HIV+ people to be come ill when it is a preventable disease. “Non-profit” agencies like The AIDS Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Co. have not only done a horrible injustice to those ill and begging for help, they attempted to destroy the one person, me, by involving my child in their repercussions of my Whistle blowing, who cared (and continues to care) about this very misunderstood and abused community of people. I have done my best, I cannot do anymore until my child is home with me. I am strong with my child and this County as far as I’m concerned slapped anyone in the face who is suffering with AIDS. How can Florida have more people living in this state with AIDS that they have living with an HIV+ diagnosis? It’s because of agencies like this one, greedy, ambivalent, and nonchalant about the HIV\AIDS community so much so that they involved the emotional, mental and physical well-being of my child by going to the Court and telling them I was “delusional” with my allegations of the agency's "going-ons." We know, HUD knows, OIG knows, the US Attorney General knows and the Volusia County Court knows the truth and yet they refuse to admit that they not only ignored my civil rights and the law, the are accountable for my child attempting suicide and keeping us apart for three years. Why are we as a country amazed when we abuse and push people down so hard when they threaten the greed and fraud of others by standing up to them, and yet we don’t understand that a mother who grieves daily cannot sit idly by and wait for the system to do the right thing? I have been the picture of focused sanity and yet this judge, Judge Richard “Dick” Graham abused every civil and human right I possessed. He treated me as if I was an insane criminal and gave me no time to even retain representation, not only that, the opposing council (whose office partner defended the subordinate co-worker who attacked me in my office twice as she wheeled a knife) continues to tell everyone including all of the new Judges in my case, (four have disqualified themselves at various times during a Hearing) that I'm crazy. This stupidity stalls the proceedings. What's crazy is that he continues to say (what obviously works in Volusia County) things that have been proven wrong by everyone from OIG to the media. If no one steps up and ACTS-UP to help in this situation with me and my child, then no one will ever have the incentive to do the right thing for HIV\AIDS clients and patients again. I lost all of my worldly possessions and I lost the child I raised alone for 11 & 1\2 years (on a Temporary Custody rulings which has lasted three years) because I felt I had to do the right thing. Everyone I have spoken to has told me “they will never whistle blow for anything at anytime ever.” I am not trying to say that’s the right way to feel, but people who love me have seen the daily pain I go through and the unbelievable power an annoyed judge has over lives and futures, is simply too dreadful to be a part of. I just couldn’t be part of an agency (with my extensive history in the HIV\AIDS field) that robbed the very clients I fought so hard to protect and educate since I began my work in the 80’s. Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:38:16 PDT http://comment-1.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Whistleblower Discovers Embezzlement in Non-profit Agency For AIDS Clients" Sun, 7 Jan 2007 05:02:32 PST http://comment-2.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Sun, 7 Jan 2007 05:07:41 PST http://comment-3.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Sun, 7 Jan 2007 05:38:42 PST http://comment-u-s-department-of-housing.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL WASHINGTON.DC 20410-4500 February 16, 2005 The Honorable Robert Wexler Member, United States House of Representatives 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 100 Boca Raton, FL 33431 Dear Representative Wexler: This is in further reference to a letter that HUD's Assistant Secretary For Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations sent to you on January 18, 2005. The Assistant Secretary's letter addressed actions taken concerning Ms. Michele Egan-Byron and her allegations that HUD program funds were missing or misappropriated from The AIDS Coalition, a non-profit organization located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The letter also notified you that my staff had closed an investigation of this matter and referred our findings to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Based on the receipt of new information, about the FDLE investigation, we have opened a parallel case. We opened case number --------0692 to control communications for our Investigation. It would be helpful if your staff could refer to the case number in any future contacts. Although there is only a limited amount of information I can provide to you because this is an ongoing investigation, I will furnish you with periodic status reports. I anticipate providing you with an interium response or a final reply by June 10, 2005. Regrettably, there is little this office can do regarding Ms. Egan-Byron's allegations of whistleblower reta1iation since she is not a federa1 employee. She may wish to pursue the options provided by the Assistant Secretary in his Jan.18, 2005, letter. She may also want to contact the Office of Attorney General for Florida to inquire whether she has any protections under the state's whistleblower protection statutes. She can contact (850)414-3300. Thank you for your interest in the integrity of HUD programs. Sincerely, Kenneth M. Donohue Inspector General Sun, 7 Jan 2007 06:18:57 PST http://comment-4.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Sun, 7 Jan 2007 06:29:29 PST http://comment-5.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Sun, 7 Jan 2007 06:32:17 PST http://comment-u-s-department-of-housing-1.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT SECRETARY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS The Honorable Robert Wexler Member, Untied States House of Representatives 2500 North Military Trail Suite 100 Boca Raton, FL 33431 Dear Representative Wexler, Thank-you for your letters of October 25, 2004, and December 3, 2004, on behalf of your constituent, Ms. Michele Egan-Byron. (Your reference for these letter is Document No.------507 df.) Ms. Michele Egan-Byron is alleging repercussions since becoming a whistle blower with respect to a project funded through the Department’s Housing Opportunities for Person’s with AIDS (HOPWA) grant program. The allegation that HUD program funds were missing or misappropriated was received and investigated by HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) unit in Jacksonville. The relevant funds are a combination of HOPWA and Ryan White CARE Act Title 11 funds. Based on the OIG investigation, it was determined that evidence supported the allegations. The United States Attorney’s Office referred HUD OIG’s findings to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The Public Assistance Fraud and Investigation Unit of FDLE is presently handling the investigation. Additional information as to State’s progress in its investigation may be obtained by contacting FDLE Investigator V----- Car---- at (386) ----6546. As to her whistle blower status, Ms. Egan-Byron might be eligible to initiate action 31 U.S.C. s 3730(H), a section of the False Claims Act providing whistle blower protection and relief including reinstatement, back pay, compensation for special damages, and attorney’s fees. The Department suggests that Ms. Egan-Byron review this provision with her legal counsel. If Ms. Egan-Byron has lost her house due to these events, she might also qualify for a number of HUD housing programs. The Department suggests that she or her representative contact the local HUD field office in Jacksonville to obtain information and available assistance to stabilize her housing situation. She may contact Mr. Gary Ca-----, Director, Office of Community Planning and Development, by writing him at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 301 West Bay Street, Suite 2200, Jacksonville, Florida 32202. Thank-you for your interest in the Department’s programs. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Steven B. Nesmith Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations Sun, 7 Jan 2007 07:05:58 PST http://comment-6.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Sun, 7 Jan 2007 07:15:52 PST http://comment-7.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Tue, 9 Jan 2007 00:45:23 PST http://comment-this-is-me-when-i-was-working.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"This is me when I was working for the CDC. It was a happier time for Zak and for me. Tue, 9 Jan 2007 00:46:27 PST http://comment-8.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Tue, 9 Jan 2007 00:48:06 PST http://comment-zak-and-his-dog-willow-i.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"Zak and his dog Willow. I had to give up our Irish Wolfhound, Shamus because of the Whistleblowing. Tue, 9 Jan 2007 00:49:35 PST http://comment-dear-eikeseven-i-thank-you.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"Dear Eikeseven, I thank-you for all your time in reading this horror story. But most of all I thank-you for your prayers. I believe in the power of prayer. I have only one thing to ask of you. Please tell everyone you know about this story. It’s because I refused to allow those with more financial backing than I to take away my rights as a woman and a mother, that I am now receiving the wonderful help I’m getting. People like Congressman Wexler, and the new agents @ HUD (OIG), and my new attorneys. These people really care and respect all the things I believe in. You cannot punish someone who refuses to steal money and benefits from AIDS patients and clients. It’s not the grounds that we founded this country on. So please let everyone you know that I ask them to tell the story to anyone who will listen. In a country like ours where most of the population is a couple of pay checks away from being homeless, how can this agency (which has been closed down) and these people be allowed to punish my son and me for putting everything on the line for what we knew was right? I thank-you again for your love and prayers. Shell09 Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:58:26 PST http://comment-dear-mellowone-i-was-thinking.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of MellowOne"Dear MellowOne, I was thinking about what you said about Florida and the fact you will get screwed easier here than basically any other state. But what is so very painful and horrible is the fact I did what I did for my patients and clients, not for me. Getting anything in return with the exception of my clients receiving their rightful benefits was the only thing I wanted and really what I expected. After HUD’s OIG conducted the second investigation and proved my allegations valid, I was positive the Health Department would at least reinstate me as the Whistleblower Protection Act statute promises. In fact the last sentence in the statute states, “ everything is to be done to make the Whistleblower “whole” again. The DOH not only hasn’t gotten around to giving me my job back, today I found out that the Chief for the Bureau of HIV\AIDS was told by the Dept of Health’s Inspector General to not place me in a position. The accurate wording in my e-mail from him was “I recall an e mail response from our inspector general that did not allow the department to place you in a position.” How demeaning is that? I did what they consistently tell you to do, they say “don’t look away when you see something is wrong, tell us.” They say, “you will be protected by the state and the agency.” Not only did this never happen to me, I was never remotely compensated by the health dept for all of my loses. It is Congressman Wexler, my attorneys (which I have because of Congressman Wexler) and HUD’s OIG department that is doing everything humanly possible to live up to the statutes standards. The health dept was responsible for the actions of The AIDS Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Co. and after 25 years in public health and working in the field of HIV\AIDS since 1986, the Inspector General tells the health dept. not to place me in a position. I don’t think a “thank-you” is in the future as well. I want these bureaucrats to stop and really think about something one day. I want them to go to work, do a satisfactory job, come home and have dinner with their family (and kids), and go to bed in a safe and comfortable bedroom. The next day I want them to think about being attacked in their own office by a subordinate co-worker who thinks you are there to take down the agency therefore she looses her job. I want them to then think about the consistent harassment I took daily and never left because I had a child to support. And then while they slept and their children slept, someone breaks into their home and steals everything precious to you and your child, and make it happen three days after Christmas, when all of the presents that were under the tree are no longer there. Next is the firing because you cannot steal from AIDS patients and clients and you can’t be silent. After that everyday is filled with lose until you lose the one person in your life you love more than yourself and for kicks lets take that child out of Florida and place him in IL, 1,500 miles away. You spend your savings trying to bring him home because you’re not sure why a judge, a former employee of the embezzling agency, an ex who abused and then abandoned his family eight years prior, and a sleazy lawyer, who has successfully given you a psychiatric diagnosis of being “delusional” based on that angry former employee’s retaliation has been able to do these inconceivable and grotesque things successfully in court in the U.S. You have no attorney, no money left and you’re in the hospital for female surgery. Yet, I pushed and finally the truth came out, only there are two problems. One being every time we get to the part where Zak is supposed to come home the judge recuses himself and we have to start all over with another one. Second, if the court knows I am not delusional and that I told the truth, and that the agency is closed down and there is a tow year on-going federal investigation based on my allegations, why won’t one of these judges, these “officers of the court” stand up and say “we were wrong!“ We are on the 5th judge. This is insane and obscene. Yes it’s immoral, unethical and basically illegal, but it doesn’t matter in Volusia County when you have a couple of bucks. At that point when you haven’t seen the only person in your life that you’ve worked for and loved and mothered and nurtured because this group of people managed to get over and no one is courageous or honest enough to say, “an error has been made, please take your child home and you’ve been reinstated into the job you respected so highly that you didn’t descend into the depths of fraud and embezzlement” does the exact opposite, you must remain calm and articulate and smile occasionally (never cry). But you also have to loose everything, your son’s baby pictures, your diploma and your sheepskins (degrees), furniture, electronics, movies, tapes, toys, car, games, jewelry, and your family pet, an IWH, Shamus, getting the picture? Next with no one believing you and no one helping you and being away from your child for the first time since he was born, and you’ve committed no crime, you have to live in a rat-infested shelter, while you maintain and keep your sanity. I’d like to see DOH’s Inspector General go through 1\3 of that for her job, for her beliefs, for her commitment. Thank-you for your thoughts and prayers. I believe in the power of prayer and in people like you. Thu, 25 Jan 2007 21:42:25 PST http://comment-9.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09" Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:35:25 PDT http://comment-this-is-my-son-zakariah-now.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"This is my son Zakariah now. He has been gone over three years now, but I still have custody. I haven't seen him during that time either. The federal investigation that HUD's OIG is conducting is still on-going. And since I've last posted, the 5th judge recused himself in the middle of our proceedings. So now we're on our 6th judge. Thank-you Volusia County, what a wonderful example you are to the rest of the state of Florida and the US. If I didn't know better I wouldn't believe that a court in this country would do everything in its power to keep a mother and child apart simply because the mother refused to keep quiet about the agency's misappropriations of funds. I am sure if I were a man, the court would have bowed down to me, but no one apparently in Volusia County likes a woman who knows the law and refuses to do what she knows is legally wrong and morally grotesque and repulsive. I miss him and love him more everyday. Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:46:38 PDT http://comment-finally-the-arrests-begin.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"FINALLY, THE ARRESTS BEGIN! On Thursday, June 21, 2007 my attorney received a phone call from The Inspector General’s office stating the Federal Grand Jury @ the Middle District of Florida in Orlando has indicted the first person I alleged was embezzling funds from my AIDS patients and clients, Ebony Davis. She was arrested and posted bond, pleading, “not guilty.” The status conference is July 12, 2007. And the five (5) day trial begins August 1, 2007. The US Attorney in charge, Cynthia Hawkins has asked the Federal Grand Jury for the five (5) day trial. According to the Inspector General's Office, because of the statute of limitations they were only able to indict on $2,180. However, I am sure that the US Attorney would not have asked the Federal Grand Jury and the judge for a five (5) day trial for $2,180 alone. Ex-Aids worker charged in theft of $2,182 Originally appeared on News.Joumal Online athttp://www.news-journalonline.comiNewsJournaIOnlinelNewslEastVolusialevIEAST04062207.htmJune 21. 2007Ex-Aids worker charged in theft of $2,182By ANNE GEGGISStaff WriterA fired employee of a now-defunct AIDS agency was arrested Thursday onfederal charges that she embezzled government money meant to pay for thehousing of AIDS patients.Ebony Davis, 29, of Daytona Beach is accused of stealing at least $2,182 while she was an employee for the AIDS Coalition of VolusiaFlagler, according to court papers. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released. That agency closed its doors last July when it ran out of funding. The former chairwoman of the coalition's board couldn't bereached for comment on what role the alleged embezzlement played in the agency's demise.Davis' arrest is only the beginning of federal charges against former AIDS Coalition workers, according to Michele Egan-Byron, a former case manager at the coalition who went to authorities when she found financial irregularities.Egan-Byron, now living in Palm Beach County, said she discovered missing money at the agency when she sought federal funds that provide housing and living expenses for AIDS patients. She was told they had already accessed their funds - and there was no more money - even though her dients told her they hadn't used it.She said Davis sent vouchers to a federal housing program for AIDS patients and arranged for her father to receive those funds as the patients'landiord. ''The landlord gets paid the money directly," Egan-Byron said.Davis, who didn't return a phone call Thursday, was fired from the AIDS Coalition in late 2002 - but charges were never pressed. Davis later went to work a senior health educator at Stewart-Marchman Center for Chemical Independence, where she worked from February 2004 until last March.After Davis' departure from the AIDS Coalition, however, money continued to go missing from the same fund, Egan-Byron said. Soon after that, Egan-Byron said she began having trouble at work and she was fired in December 2002.Following that firing, Egan-Byron's ex-husband was able to get temporary custody of her son after a former AIDS Coalition colleague testified at a hearing that she was "delusional" in reporting the goings-on at the coalition, court papers show.An official with the U.S. District Attorney for the Middle District of Florida said the investigation is continuing. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Baker agreed in U.S. District Court in Orlando Thursday with a request from Assistant U.S.Attorney Cynthia Hawkins that Davis be monitored for drugs because of evidence that she is abusing them.anne.qeqqis@news-irnl.com Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:11:10 PDT http://she-pled-guilty-faces-20-years-in-federal-prison-am-i-still-del.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Originally appeared on News-Journal Online athttp://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/EastVolusia/evlEAST04090707.htm September 07, 2007 Woman faces 20 years in prison for embezzling AIDS funds By ANNE GEGGIS Staff Writer A fired employee of a now-defunct AIDS agency faces up to 20 years in prison following her guilty plea to federal charges that she embezzled funds meant to pay for the housing of AIDS patients. Ebony Davis, 29, of Daytona Beach, who worked for the AIDS Coalition of Volusia/Flagler for five months in 2002, pleaded guilty to two federal charges of embezzlement in U.S. District Court in Orlando Wednesday. She will be sentenced Nov. 26. Neither Davis nor her public defender, Stephen Langs, returned phone calls seeking comment Thursday. Federal paperwork filed late last month detailed how Davis was able to embezzle about $9,000 from a fund set up to help AIDS patients pay for their housing when she worked at the AIDS Coalition as a case manager. She submitted a housing voucher to the Northeast Health Planning Council requesting that a check be issued from the Housing for People With Aids fund to a landlord for AIDS patients. But these "landlords" whom the checks were made out to were her father and two other men she knew. Davis would pay the "landlords" a few hundred dollars out of each check they cashed and take the remainder, according to court documents. Some of those vouchers for the bogus landlords were signed by the AIDS Coalition's executive director, Susan Hutchins, who resigned from her position in March 2006. The AIDS Coalition was forced to close its doors in August 2006 because of financial woes. anne.geggis@news-jrnl.com Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:15:05 PDT http://comment-zak-and-i-were-reunited-after.app-shell09-1.aidpage.com/ Note: This aidpage was started as a comment on "Home page of Shell09"My son Zak and I were reunited after 3 & 1\2 years, of wrongful, spiteful and painful separation, last month. There are no words to express how we feel. I wish I could say something profound, but I'm drained. I just want to get to know my child again after all the pain this horror story and these sick people put us through. I love him more than anything in this world, and I always have. I want to thank all of the wonderful people who wrote to me and gave me hope and strength. My prayers and blessings are with you as well. I have not and will not stop fighting for my rights and those of my patients and clients, but for now I'm just happy that my son is back in my life and doesn't blame me for doing what I thought was right. Michele ZAK & MOM Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:24:39 PDT