TODD SMITH'S MOTHER SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR OF PROBATION FOR FAILING TO REPORT SON'S FRAUD

Today, Judge Charles R. Simpson, II sentenced Sybil Smith to serve a one-year term of probation and ordered her to pay restitution of $950, which Smith paid in full at the sentencing hearing, and court costs. The sentence imposed upon Ms. Smith, reflected Judge Simpson's acceptance of the plea agreement pursuant to which Ms. Smith had pled guilty to concealing and failing to report her son's fraudulent misappropriation of donations solicited by a charitable foundation established by her son and which she served as Treasurer.

In accepting the plea agreement, Judge Simpson acknowledged the extent of the proof of Ms. Smith's wrongdoing and the reasonableness of the agreed sentence in light of her cooperation in the prosecution of her son and the limited extent of her personal involvement in the fraud.

During the year of her probation, Ms. Smith will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office who will report any violations of her probation to the Judge, should any occur.

Facts

Sybil Smith had cooperated with federal and state authorities in the successful prosecution of her son. Todd Smith was a radio personality on WDJX in Louisville, Kentucky, using the stage name Todd Kelly. In 2001, Todd Smith fraudulently announced to family, friends and coworkers that he had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable and fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. Smith claimed at the time that doctors had told him he had three to five years to live. In fact, Smith never had ALS. Smith also never had cancer, despite his claim in 2004 that in addition to ALS he suffered from bone cancer. In one email Smith sent to potential donors, he claimed that as a result of the cancer "I will lose both of my legs in a very short period of time (not sure when that is but it will happen)."

In 2002, Todd Smith established the Todd Kelly Foundation, purportedly to raise money for ALS research. On its website, the Todd Kelly Foundation stated: "by making a tax deductible donation to the Todd Kelly Foundation-ALS Research, you are directly funding the ground-breaking research that will one day provide treatments and a cure for this devastating disease," and "OVER 80 CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR YOU GIVE GOES STRAIGHT TO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. We promise that your donation will be used wisely and effectively."

Over the next several years, Todd Smith held various fund raising events to generate funds for the Foundation. Smith induced local radio and television personalities to promote Foundation events, and solicited and received thousands of dollars in donations from hundreds of donors by interstate wire and United States mail. These fund raisers were often advertised on both television and radio broadcasts, on the internet, and through email and regular mail. Throughout the various fund-raising events, Smith continued to fraudulently assert that he suffered from ALS and frequently sent emails and letters updating potential donors on his alleged medical condition.
Contrary to the representations on its website, however, no Foundation funds were ever contributed to ALS research. Rather, Todd Smith used Todd Kelly Foundation funds to pay for thousands of dollars of his own personal expenses, including:

• Hundreds of dollars in purchases from Liquor World and Liquor Barn;
• thousands of dollars in purchases of limousine services;
• hundreds of dollars for concert tickets;
• hundreds of dollars in purchases from restaurants and bars such as Sully's, Red Cheetah, Jillians, On the Border, Cunningham's, Derby Dinner Playhouse, Wendy's, Dominos, TGI Friday's, Chili's, and O'Charley's;
• hundreds of dollars in purchases from Blockbuster and Borders Books;
• hundreds of dollars for airline tickets from Northwest Airlines;
• hundreds of dollars spent at the Marriot Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee;
  o nearly $1,000 paid to the Carlson Wagonlit travel agency in Jeffersonville, Indiana;
• over $100 in purchases from Caesars Casino in Indiana;
• thousands of dollars in purchases from Thorntons, BP Oil, Shell, Chevron, Marathon, and Swifty; and
• thousands of dollars in purchases from Target, Best Buy, Buehler's Fresh Market, Mastersons, Horner Novelty Company, NCAA Men's Final Four, Southwest Airlines, Progressive Auto Insurance, Steinmart, Payless Shoes, Insight Cable, and Walgreen.

At all relevant times, Sybil Smith was the Todd Kelly Foundation's Treasurer. As Treasurer, Sybil Smith deposited donations received by the Todd Kelly Foundation, paid the Todd Kelly Foundation's bills, and also reviewed the Todd Kelly Foundation's bank records.

As Treasurer, Sybil Smith knew that none of the thousands of dollars in donations the Todd Kelly Foundation received supported ALS research, contrary to Todd Smith's representations to the public that over 80 cents of every dollar donated to the Todd Kelly Foundation went straight to scientific research. Despite this knowledge, Sybil Smith never revealed this fact to potential or actual donors, and did not notify law enforcement.

Todd Smith pled guilty in August 2007 and was sentenced in December 2007 to seven years imprisonment.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David R. Weiser, and it was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kentucky State Police.

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