Charles Ramsey, the man who helped rescue Cleveland kidnap victims Amanda Berry, Georgina DeJesus and Michelle Knight just two months ago, is reportedly broke.

“I’m broke, bro, and that’s the truth,” Ramsey told the Daily Mail.

Ramsey has reportedly been making quite a bit of money off his act of heroism and the subsequent fame. Ramsey has earned around $30.000, an income made up from donations from supporters and various speaking engagements. The paper also reports that Ramsey is set to make even more money from speaking engagements in the coming months. Ramsey also bought a new BMW for $8,000 and has started selling branded T-shirts.

Ramsey seems to have driven himself into debt, and admits that creditors are hounding him.

“Money goes fast if you have bills,” Ramsey elaborated.

Ramsey’s plight is puzzling in light of his recent windfall – McDonald’s even announced they would supply Ramsey with free burgers for a year – and his highly publicized declaration that he was not a hero and did not want reward money.

“I tell you what to do, give it to them [the kidnapping victims]. Because if folks been following this case since last night, you been following me since last night, you know I got a job anyway,” Ramsey said in an interview with Anderson Cooper on AC360.

Ramsey has since lost his job – a fact he attributes to the many fans that insisted on meeting him while he was at work – and says he can’t return to his home due to his new status as a public figure.

“I don’t have an address, I don’t live anywhere. I go from house to house, to friend to friend, to family member to family member. What I’ve been doing for the past four weeks is wearing out my welcome with everybody who knows me,” Ramsey continued.

Ramsey’s fall from grace comes as no surprise to his ex-neighbors, many of whom insist that he has been spreading lies, exaggerating his involvement in the rescue.

“Charles has been living it up … He bought a new BMW and came by a few weeks ago at night telling my son that he was going to be rich. He made a T-shirt with his face on it that he was selling for $25,” Aurora Marti, who lives across the street from Ramsey and the alleged kidnaper, Ariel Castro, told the Daily Mail.

Ramsey is currently trying to find a job and has expressed plans to get part of the FBI reward money for finding the kidnap victims.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Leave a comment

Read more about: