Officer retires amid wife’s fraud inquiry

Woman accused of raising funds under false pretenses.

A Cleveland CLEVELAND — police officer retired and his wife hired an attorney amid a criminal investigation into whether she committed any crimes when she held fundraisers while falsely claiming she had cancer while she was pregnant.

The retirement happened the day before Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital posted a photo of Dawn Brown in their maternity ward in order to warn employees that she may try to steal a baby from the hospital.

Officer Kenneth Brown, who was hired in 1993, retired Wednesday, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

An internal affairs investigation is underway to determine if he had any knowledge that his wife of less than three months was lying when she made the claims that she was pregnant and had Stage IV breast cancer.

Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association President Jeff Follmer previously said that an investigation found that Dawn Brown did not have cancer and was not pregnant. Ciaccia said the investigation is ongoing and that no criminal charges have been filed.

North Olmsted attorney Joseph Patticue said in an emailed statement on Thursday that Dawn Brown had hired him to represent he in the on-going probe. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment, but his assistant said he was in a court hearing.

The criminal probe centers on Dawn Brown’s various social media and online fundraising campaigns, including one on GoFundMe that raised $725 in about a week.

The page has since been taken down, but a cached version said that a friend built the page on behalf of Dawn Brown. It says the couple faced “mounting bills, medical bills and funeral expenses.”

It goes on to say Dawn Brown fought cancer since she was 4 years old and that she is a mother and grandmother. The post also says the cancer spread to her stomach, brain and bones and that she “will be leaving her family and friends.”

The post says that Dawn Brown was due on Jan. 22, but that delivery was moved up because of the seriousness of illness.

A Nov. 14, 2017 filing in Dawn Brown’s most recent divorce case says that she was not pregnant at the time.

On Thursday, photos of fliers posted at Cleveland Clinic Fairvew Park circulated on social media. A Clinic spokeswoman confirmed that the fliers have been posted in the maternity ward.

“Based on information we received from the Cleveland Police Department, we have taken extra measures to ensure patients are safe and secure at Fairview Hospital,” a statement from the Cleveland Clinic said. “We take this matter seriously and want to reassure our patients that their safety is our top priority.”

The fliers says that Brown is “currently running an ongoing scam involving a fake pregnancy.” It goes on to say that Brown “is known to have scouted the Fairview Hospital Birthing Center” and that she’s familiar with the hospital’s procedures.

“The investigators are concerned that Brown could attempt to try and take a baby from the hospital.”