New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas

Kaitlyn Braun, the Brantford, Ont. woman previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas, has been charged again in connection to a new victim.

Hamilton Police confirmed to CTV News that three new charges were laid on May 6. They include obtaining by false pretence, false information and fraud under $5,000.

Those charges stem from alleged incidents between April 28 and April 30.

Other charges

Braun was arrested by Hamilton Police on April 30 and charged the following day with obtaining by false pretence, harassing communications and alleged breach of a conditional sentence order.

Hamilton Police said the alleged incidents took place on April 17 and 18, and related to Braun falsely seeking support for pregnancy and childbirth from another victim.

Braun has been in custody since her April 30 arrest.

Previous plea

In December 2023, Braun pleaded guilty to 21 charges related to deceiving and defrauding doulas.

Court heard she contacted numerous doulas over a number of months starting in June 2022. Often she would tell them she was pregnant as a result of sexual assault. The doulas supported Braun, many times as she pretended to go through a stillbirth.

Braun was sentenced to two years of house arrest in February 2024, though at the time the judge raised concerns about a mental health report that suggested Braun was likely to reoffend.

Doula reacts to new charges

Amy Silva was one of Braun’s original victims and shared a number of videos online warning others about a doula scammer.

She said many people are still hearing about Braun’s case for the first time.

“There are just so many people, still, that aren’t aware of things happening, so there’s definitely the possibility of more charges, more people coming forward,” she told CTV Kitchener on Tuesday.

Silva suggests anyone who thinks they may have been contacted by Braun speak with someone they feel comfortable with, whether that’s another doula or police.

“Everybody kind of has to make the choice that’s right for them. Some people just don’t want to know if they were impacted, which again, that’s your own choice, right?” she explained. “The people that have chosen to speak out and continue to speak out, it’s just because we don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”