On the left, Joe Biden meets Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on July 14, 2022. On the right is the Photoshopped image former Town Councilman Daniel Sohn is sharing with the public. {Getty Images}
By John Sotomayor and Sharon Aron Baron
A South Florida politician just experienced two of the most remarkable life events.
The problem is they never happened.
On January 10, 2024, Daniel H. Sohn, a 33-year-old former city commission candidate for Sunrise and Dania Beach, city councilman of Haverhill, as well as the president and CEO of the Pride Chamber in Orlando, published a photo of himself being sworn in as a “Governing Board Member” by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Then, on February 23, 2024, Sohn published a photograph of his alleged meeting with President Joe Biden, which was reportedly taken during Biden’s February 20, 2024, visit to California.
Both photos, which are owned by Getty Images, were allegedly photoshopped by Sohn.
These misrepresentations by Sohn were far from his first.
Before we begin, we want to clarify that this article is not intended to defame Daniel Sohn; however, we believe it is essential to expose individuals who misrepresent their qualifications and deceive the public. If left unchecked, people like him could become the next George Santos, the disgraced former congressman his own colleagues ousted on December 1, 2023.
Sohn’s Dubious Appointments
According to Sohn’s LinkedIn Page, Facebook Pages, Instagram page (now since taken down), and bio in the Pride Chamber, he claims to be directly appointed by Joe Biden.
Sohn routinely refers to Biden as “his boss” and says that California Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated him as a board member of the Selective Service System.
His false claims say he is one of two paid Governing Board Members in California. He also claims that the vice president swore him in and that he greeted Joe Biden during his February 20, 2024, fundraiser in California, who he alleges he is politically connected with.
Sohn is currently a local board member, serving no active role, and is merely a volunteer in a contingency plan if Congress amends the U.S. Constitution and the President activates the draft.
Daniel Sohn’s cringeworthy videos featuring doctored photos, a picture that he did not take of Air Force One, and him showing off his pizza.
Sohn’s appointment as a volunteer board member was published in the Holtville Tribune. All volunteer board members are currently appointed by the Director of the Selective Service System, and Sohn has most likely never met President Biden or Vice President Harris.
As a local volunteer board member, Sohn does not represent the U.S. President. Only the California State Director of the Selective Service System has those responsibilities. Sohn’s jurisdiction is limited to Sonoma County, and technically, living in Florida should have been grounds for removal.
Daniel Sohn’s business cards states he is a Governing Board Member for the Selective Service System.
Sohn has distributed business cards with the Selective Service System logo that claim he is a Governing Board Member. The email address to contact him is @Danielsohn.com, not the official @sss.gov domain.
The Deceit Starts Way Back
Sohn ran unsuccessfully for a seat on Sunrise’s City Commission in 2012. Political activist and blogger Chaz Stevens exposed Daniel Sohn’s lies during his second election campaign in Dania Beach in 2013.
According to Stevens, Sohn, 22, claimed he was a life coach, author, and public speaker while attending Broward College.
“Daniel Sohn’s between the lines insinuation hopes the voters find him fiscally capable and ready, having governed an $8 million budget at 12 years old. Hand-picked by the Governor, who, having some free time on his hands, culled local middle schools, looking for the most capable of solving Tallahassee’s problems. What Sohn fails to mention, and with good reason, is Mom wrote this grant.” —Chaz Stevens wrote in 2013.
Daniel Sohn, the author and entrepreneur.
Stevens revealed that Sohn’s nonprofit, Tree of Life Branch of a Nation Foundation (TLBN), had been administratively dissolved in 2012 for not paying filing fees and was never registered with the IRS.
In August 2013, one of his supporters posted on Sohn’s Facebook page that the Mayor of Dania Beach, Walter Duke, had asked Sohn to run for the seat, to which Mayor Duke’s wife responded, “The mayor did NOT ask him to run: he doesn’t even know him,” wrote Stevens in his blog.
Sohn’s supporters, who had formerly endorsed him, were backpedaling in the article “Candidate’s Chances Slim After Activist Exposes Lies” in April 2013.
Leaving Broward for Palm Beach
After his padded resume was exposed in Broward County, Sohn continued to pursue elected office, running for various positions, including Haverhill Town Council in 2018, which he won.
Sohn had allegedly not established residency in the 2,167-resident town, where 76 people voted for him, and won by 18 votes.
Haverhill Town Council meeting minutes show Sohn had ethical challenges.
Vice Mayor Lawrence Gordon wanted to establish a policy for mail, mainly anonymous, letters after he was suspected of authoring one accusing the town council of victimizing Sohn.
“[The] biggest problem with Council Member Sohn was that he lies all the time, and he was an incessant liar.” — Haverhill Vice Mayor Lawrence Gordon, at a 2020 meeting.
Just 18 days later, on March 17, 2020. Sohn ran as an incumbent against Ray Caranci and lost by one vote.
On November 18, 2021, the Haverhill Town Council unanimously passed an ordinance to create new residency requirements in case Sohn decided to run again.
Sohn left Palm Beach County shortly after his election loss and moved on to California, where records show his husband, Kaitik Chan, rents a home; however, records also show that Sohn is renting an apartment in Orlando.
Fake Chamber
In 2013, Sohn established the South Florida Nonprofit Chamber of Commerce in his mother’s home, where he had resided at the time. He gave himself the title of president/CEO. Almost two years later, on September 25, 2015, Sunbiz administratively dissolved it.
Given its location as a private residence, the corporation allegedly had no members. There is no record of nonprofit tax-exempt documents being filed with the IRS.
Sohn used the alleged chamber to build his resume and was hired by the Imperial Valley Chamber of Commerce in El Centro, CA, followed by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce in Antioch, CA, from 2021 to 2023, where he was president/CEO. He then used those positions on his resume to obtain his current position with the Pride Chamber in June 2023 as president/CEO.
Daniel Sohn is the CEO of the Pride Chamber of Orlando.
Questionable Nonprofits
According to Embrace Magazine contributing writer Michael Kurtz, Sohn requested coverage of his newest nonprofit, the U.S. Business Consortium, in the December 2023 Leadership Issue of Embrace Magazine. He allegedly provided false information during his interview, and the issue was published with as many corrections as possible, but some errors remained.
Sohn’s “U.S. Business Consortium” website has been recently deleted.
The Embrace magazine article said, “When the Business Consortium was first conceived in the 1990s, it was only a private organization in California. It underwent a major restructuring in 2005 to become an entity of ‘business leaders and economic development advocates serving the shared need to address many of the challenges nationwide.’ Under Sohn’s leadership, the organization expanded its membership by over 100 economic developers, chamber of commerce executives, and destination marketing professionals, who are either employed by their respective counties, cities, or states.”
Kurtz had relied on the U.S. Business Consortium website, which Sohn manages and is now “down for maintenance.”
According to Sohn’s website, USBC is currently the fastest-growing company in the United States. The company has three office locations, including a national headquarters in Washington, D.C., as well as offices in New York and Fort Lauderdale. The business also claims to have a national board of advisors, In December 2022, Sohn was promoted from Economic Development Leader to National President.
U.S. Business Consortium’s website shows three locations but no addresses or phone numbers.
Starting in October 2022 in California, the USBC will consist of only three people: Sohn as CEO, Ryan Terrell as Secretary, and Kaitik Chan (Sohn’s husband) as CFO.
No members, board of directors, regional directors, or national advisor board exist.
It appears Sohn acquired a failing nonprofit, the East County Business-Education Alliance, which in 2022 had only $824 left in the bank and renamed it the U.S. Business Consortium.
There is a great deal of evidence that shows the USBC is a non-functioning entity. There is no nonprofit tax-exempt status for the USBC at the IRS Federal level. The California Department of Justice only has nonprofit, tax-exempt data for the former East County Business-Education Alliance, which is currently “delinquent” for failure to file financial documents during the period Sohn acquired the entity.
Sohn has not filed an IRS 990 tax form since he owned it; the last one that can be found was signed by the previous CEO and dated 2021. The entity supposedly has a 20-year history, but the website only lists two events for November 2022, both canceled, including the event where Sohn was named national president. No events occurred in 2023.
A statement of information must be filed with the California Secretary of State every year, yet the filing date for the USBC has been listed as “Past Due” since January 1, 2024.
The USBC allegedly exists more for Sohn to enhance his resume and network than to serve the public.
Sohn continues to request future coverage with Embrace Magazine, asking for a follow-up story that would include the alleged Photoshopped photos of Vice President Harris and President Biden.
Sohn asked to be featured in Florida’s Embrace Magazine before staff discovered his padded resume.
Story on Embrace Magazine of Daniel Sohn.
The Fake Photos
Sohn has allegedly resorted to using Photoshop to support his narratives. It is unclear how often Sohn has used these types of doctored images. However, two recent ones appear to be fake.
The first is Vice President Kamala Harris swearing Sohn in as a local Selective Service System board member on October 21, 2021.
The Kamala Harris photo is allegedly made up of two parts: a Getty Image by Alex Wong taken of Kamala Harris swearing in U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and a Moya Photography photo of Sohn being sworn in as a Haverhill Councilman.
The Joe Biden photo is allegedly made up of three components: a Mandel Ngan photo taken of Joe Biden meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on July 14, 2022; a headshot of Sohn; and a fake background that includes the U.S. Selective Service System seal.
Continuation of Lies
On March 19, 2024, Sohn, as president/CEO of the Pride Chamber, was honored by the Orlando Magic on Pride Night during the Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets game, part of their diversity honors. The Pride Chamber stated he was honored for his work and the newly established Pride Foundation.
Sohn’s bio with the Pride Chamber with this embellished job history.
The Honorable Daniel Sohn
Sohn addresses himself as the Honorable Daniel Sohn due to being a former city councilman of Haverhill. However, only high-level federal elected or appointed persons are called Honorable. Judges are called Your Honor on every level, and on the municipal level, only the mayor may be called Honorable, not city councilmen or county commissioners.
On April 1, 2024, only days before this report was finalized, Sohn posted an image naming himself the “Hon. Daniel H. Sohn” and under his name, “Presidential Appointee,” the latter eluding to his fake title as Governing Board Member of the Selective Service.
The story of Daniel Sohn underscores the importance of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in all spheres of life. Ultimately, Sohn’s actions and lies are anything but honorable.
Alexander Sotomayor and Chaz Stevens contributed to this article.
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