Rhea County patriotic activist June Griffin said people drove from afar after she said an ad in Craig's List falsely claimed that she was giving away a bed at her furniture store.
Ms. Griffin said the ad ran on Sept. 29 and 30, saying that Griffin's Family Furniture at 7901 Rhea County Highway, Dayton, "was to give away to a needy family a king-size bed."
She said, "It further stated that the LORD had told me to do so. (This blasphemy adds to the fraud.)"
Ms. Griffin said the ad contained a picture of a bed, which she said she does not have in her store.
She said, "This advertisement provoked several families to come to my store, some as far away as Decatur and Chattanooga to get this 'free' bed. One waited from 7:30 a.m. until I arrived at 10 a.m. to get the bed; another was waiting when I drove up - there is no telling how long this poor man had been there. He had been sleeping on the floor with three of his small grandchildren which he had been forced to take in from a bad situation.
"Others, one in a wheelchair, came for two days to get this fraudulent and false promise. Whoever ran this ad didn't hurt me as much as the poor disappointed and frustrated people. They were angry with the ad."
Ms. Griffin said she filed a police report with the Dayton City Police over the incident. She said, "They are very adapt at catching criminals."