Obama's "Homeless" Fort Myers Woman Owns Property?
Posted by: Dr. Richard Swier | 02/25/2009 5:54 AM
Remember President Obama's trip to Fort Myers Florida to push passage of the "American Debtors Bill of 2009"? Remember how a black woman named Henrietta Hughes told Obama, "I have an urgent need"?
Well WorldNetDaily reports:
...After the incident, Chene Thompson, wife of Florida state Rep. Nicholas Thompson, R-Fort Myers, said she would allow Hughes to stay in her home without charging rent.
"Basically, I offered Ms. Hughes and her son the opportunity to stay in my home rent-free for as long as they need to," Thompson told WBBH-TV in Fort Myers. "I'm not a millionaire, I'm not rich, but this is what I can do for someone if they need it."
Hughes and her son, Corey, later declared to MSNBC that they had found hope with the help of God and Obama.
"I'd just say thank you very much, we appreciate you," said Corey, though it was Thompson who ultimately provided the helping hand.
While the media echoed the inspiring story, Florida's CBS affiliate, Southwest WINK News, revealed that Hughes had refused assistance for her allegedly homeless family before the appearance with Obama.
The director of We Care Outreach Ministry, Tanya Johnson, told the station she offered Hughes a home for three months in January - but the woman refused to accept her offer.
"We would have allowed her to stay for the first 90 days, no income. You know free," she said.
Johnson said she gave Hughes and her son money, food and free job training courses - but the woman refused again.
"We have extended a lot of her services to her," Johnson said.
Nonetheless, Hughes told the station she's never cheated the system
and never chose to be homeless.
A blogger on Sweetness & Light researched property records for Hughes and found that the woman owned as many as three homes in recent years. She sold one in 2005 - two years after she allegedly began living in her car with her son - for a significant profit.
Hughes granted full ownership of a second home to her son, and the blogger suggests that Hughes made the transfer to meet income requirements for continuing to collect Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare benefits. No sales records could be located for the third home - and some say it could be an indication that Hughes still owns it.
http://www.redcounty.com/sarasota/2009/02/obamas-homeless-fort-myers-wom/
