I won $75,000 for my writing!

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I woke up around 4:30 am to take my medication —- I’ve been battling a nasty flu for a few days & take pills every 6 hours to reduce fever and pain.

Given that I had around a half hour remaining before it was time for my meds, I decided to check my email.

Head stuffy, eyes bleary I scrolled through my account in the dark, illumined only by the light of my phone.

I saw that I heard back from The Epitome Writing Foundation. I’d submitted a grant proposal, less than a week ago, for a few thousand dollars...

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Incredibly, the email read:

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that Yahia Lababidi has been awarded $75,000 as a grant from The Epitome Writing Foundation for the quest to further his writing pursuit.

Still half asleep, I could not fully absorb this waking dream and read on:

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Chattered Financial Savings? Where had I read that before? Then, it dawned on me & my stupor deepened...

I’d received text messages the other day notifying me that $75,000 was credited to my account with Chattered Financials Bank!

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Could this be true? After all these years —decades, at this point— of suffering for my art, with little financial reward— I was finally being granted a great gift from the heavens?

I went back to the Epitome website to learn more about my generous benefactor, McDougal Cohen,“a distinguished private investor and writer”

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In the too-good-to-be-true congratulations email announcing my $75,000 award, I was told to expect in the mail a certificate and notice of grant award.

In filling out my grant application, I’d shared with the Epitome Foundation (among other things) my mailing address and a copy of my driver’s license, per their request.

Before sharing any further personal information, and too excited to go back to sleep, I thought I’d do some further investigation.

There was precious little information online (not a good sign) and my heart sank when I came across this:

Writers: Is The Epitome Foundation A $75,000 Scam? - The Snapping Point

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