HAPPY VALLEY POLICE ARREST MAN ON MULTIPLE THEFT BY DECEPTION CHARGES; TIPS, POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL VICTIMS SOUGHT (PHOTO)
News Release from Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office
Posted on FlashAlert: May 13th, 2014 4:52 PM
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, the Happy Valley Police, working with other agencies, served a search warrant at 11056 SE Hilltop Ct. in Happy Valley. Following the warrant service, deputies arrested Michael Andrew Brennan, age 50, on three counts of Theft by Deception. Brennan is alleged to have committed food-stamp fraud, defrauded his disabled father-in-law, and accepted charitable donations for a non-existent non-profit organization. Happy Valley Police are looking for additional possible victims; tips are sought.
Authorities believe Michael Brennan had been accepting donations through a website and Facebook page, both titled "Saving America's Heroes" -- telling donors that proceeds went to the "Matthew M. Brennan Foundation ... a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization ... for America's soldiers." However, no such 501 (C) (3) filing exists, and funds raised had allegedly been going into a personal bank account.
On Michael Brennan's www.savingamericasheroes.org webpage -- since taken down but archived online here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130719073215/http://www.savingamericasheroes.org
-- Michael Brennan and his wife Maria Brennan wrote that the nonexistent foundation had been created to help soldiers with PTSD, and had been founded in honor of their late son Matthew Brennan, an Oregon Army National Guard veteran who committed suicide in 2011 at age 22. An Oregonian story on Matthew Brennan can be found here:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2011/08/the_life_and_death_of_an_orego.html
At this writing, authorities have not found evidence that any funds donated to "Saving America's Heroes" went toward the stated mission of the website.
Authorities also allege that Brennan stole money from his father-in-law -- a 65-year paraplegic -- taking money from the victim's bank account and using it for personal purchases, including the purchase of a Happy Valley home.
Brennan also allegedly convinced multiple local contractors to donate remodeling services to the Happy Valley home in the name of the Matthew M. Brennan Foundation, which does not have the 501 (C) 3 designation repeatedly claimed by Michael Brennan.
Michael Brennan was booked into the Clackamas County Jail. His bail is $45,000. A booking photo of Brennan is attached and full booking info can be found here:
http://www.clackamas.us/safetyapp/inmates/inmate.jsp?in=2014007884
Agencies assisting in the investigation include the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office (Investigations Division), Adult Protective Services, the Oregon Department of Justice, the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Three Clackamas County cities -- Damascus, Happy Valley, and Wilsonville -- contract with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office to provide municipal police services.
TIPS, POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL VICTIMS SOUGHT
If you have any other information on Michael Brennan and these alleged crimes or feel you may have been victimized by Michael Brennan, contact us using our Tip Line -- by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the new online email form at http://web3.clackamas.us/contact/tip.jsp
[END]
Authorities believe Michael Brennan had been accepting donations through a website and Facebook page, both titled "Saving America's Heroes" -- telling donors that proceeds went to the "Matthew M. Brennan Foundation ... a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization ... for America's soldiers." However, no such 501 (C) (3) filing exists, and funds raised had allegedly been going into a personal bank account.
On Michael Brennan's www.savingamericasheroes.org webpage -- since taken down but archived online here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130719073215/http://www.savingamericasheroes.org
-- Michael Brennan and his wife Maria Brennan wrote that the nonexistent foundation had been created to help soldiers with PTSD, and had been founded in honor of their late son Matthew Brennan, an Oregon Army National Guard veteran who committed suicide in 2011 at age 22. An Oregonian story on Matthew Brennan can be found here:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2011/08/the_life_and_death_of_an_orego.html
At this writing, authorities have not found evidence that any funds donated to "Saving America's Heroes" went toward the stated mission of the website.
Authorities also allege that Brennan stole money from his father-in-law -- a 65-year paraplegic -- taking money from the victim's bank account and using it for personal purchases, including the purchase of a Happy Valley home.
Brennan also allegedly convinced multiple local contractors to donate remodeling services to the Happy Valley home in the name of the Matthew M. Brennan Foundation, which does not have the 501 (C) 3 designation repeatedly claimed by Michael Brennan.
Michael Brennan was booked into the Clackamas County Jail. His bail is $45,000. A booking photo of Brennan is attached and full booking info can be found here:
http://www.clackamas.us/safetyapp/inmates/inmate.jsp?in=2014007884
Agencies assisting in the investigation include the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office (Investigations Division), Adult Protective Services, the Oregon Department of Justice, the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Three Clackamas County cities -- Damascus, Happy Valley, and Wilsonville -- contract with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office to provide municipal police services.
TIPS, POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL VICTIMS SOUGHT
If you have any other information on Michael Brennan and these alleged crimes or feel you may have been victimized by Michael Brennan, contact us using our Tip Line -- by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the new online email form at http://web3.clackamas.us/contact/tip.jsp
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