Regulators say Traeshonna Graham claimed to secure grants for struggling businesses for thousands in fees but never delivered.
She called herself Grant Bae and appeared in online chats alongside well-known entrepreneurial influencers. She said she had years of experience in grant writing and could help struggling minority-owned businesses secure much-needed money during the pandemic.
For this, Traeshonna Graham, of Lake City, Fla., collected thousands in fees, but dozens of clients say she never delivered. Now, the Federal Trade Commission and authorities in Florida have moved to shut Grant Bae down, saying the business was all a COVID-19 scam. Targeting minority-run businesses, Graham appeared as Shonna Williams on panels alongside well-known entrepreneur advisors on platforms like Clubhouse.
But the FTC says it was all a lie. Graham had little experience as a grant writer when she launched Grant Bae and that her last known job was for a fast food restaurant in Florida from which she was fired in 2018 for theft. She served three years of probation for the offense, court records said.
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