Cleveland Father Ignored by the System, Abandoned by the Court, Fighting Anyway and Needs Help

CLEVELAND, OH — Three weeks ago, the court finally got it right. It issued a protection order that kept Heather Elizabeth Greminger (Stevens) out of my home and away from the children she has abused, neglected, and endangered more times than I can count. For the first time in a long time, I felt like someone in power had listened. That maybe, just maybe, we were safe.

Now, without warning, that protection has been ripped away.

The court reversed its decision. The protection order was lifted.

And how did I find out? Not with a phone call. Not with a letter. Not with any kind of official notice. I found out when she showed up at our home, escorted in by the police with a notice from the court I had not even been made aware of. They let her in, with me and my children present. The police, who have access to evidence of her felonies, her manipulation, her violence, and her repeated criminal behavior, walked her right back into our lives. That was the moment I learned the court failed us. No warning. No time to prepare. Just her, walking through my front door with a tax-paid armed escort, and allowed back into the very place we fought to keep her out of.

This is not just one bad decision. It is evidence of a system in crisis. A system that too often protects abusers and silences the people begging for help.

Heather is not just unstable. She is dangerous. She is a convicted felon with a long record of fraud, identity theft, drug abuse, and manipulation. She has lied to everyone in her life, including under oath to the courts.

She claimed to be a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Florida. She did people’s taxes. She collected payment. She represented herself in legal documents as a CPA. But the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation confirmed directly that she never held any such license. She lied, and she did it in a courtroom.

She submitted a private, unsupervised drug test to the court. It was not ordered by a judge. It was not verified by any agency. It had no documented chain of custody. Meanwhile, I have a properly observed and legitimate test showing she was positive for amphetamines just weeks before.

They accepted hers. They ignored mine.

I have personally witnessed her use drugs. So have our children. We found over thirty unopened bottles of Xyrem in her possession. This is not speculation. It is evidence.

She gave prescription medication—likely Adderall and Ambien—to our teenage daughter and told her to keep it a secret from me. That alone should have triggered action. It did not.

She owns a gun. She has threatened me with it. She is a convicted felon and cannot legally possess one. She lied about having it. Somehow, she got it back anyway.

What makes this even more disturbing is that Heather has multiple felony convictions in the state of Florida. She fled that state without paying the court-ordered restitution tied to those cases and came to Ohio, where she eventually met me. To this day, that restitution remains unpaid. This is not speculation—it is public record and can be verified by anyone who looks. Despite this, local law enforcement and the courts here in Ohio allowed her to reclaim a firearm, even though federal law explicitly prohibits felons from possessing weapons. They had the information. They had the record. They still gave her the gun back.

Heather is not misunderstood. She is calculated. She faked having terminal cancer. Claimed she had stage four lung cancer. Said she was cured by green tea. There is no record of any diagnosis. There never was.

I spoke with her former husband. He shared the same story. The same tactics. The same destruction. Only his version was earlier, and hers has only gotten worse.

She has had affairs with at least a dozen men. Some while our children were in the house. One of them traveled from out of state, was left alone with our daughters, and bought one of them jewelry. He texted her. Heather told her not to tell me; but once we got that initial protection order, my oldest felt safe enough to open up about the private prison she had been living in, right under my nose, and I had no idea!

A private investigator and investigative journalist found misconduct in her employment with Marriott International. She is accused of theft, falsifying her records, and violating privacy protocols. At least one of her romantic partners was her supervisor. That man had (and continues to have) access to all three of our daughter’s devices and has purchased them gifts.

She has lied her way into jobs, relationships, and safe places. Then she burns them down once she's gotten what she wants, and leaves them to pick up the pieces of the life she shattered.

My oldest daughter testified against Heather. She told her truth to the court. I begged her not to get involved. I didn't want her to have any feelings in life about getting her mom into trouble; but she demanded to be heard. She demanded that I let her use her voice to tell HER story in court, and she did; and it was ignored. Her own mother testified against her. She described Heather as erratic, jittery, and visibly high. She said she felt unsafe. She left early at family events because Heather could not even stay seated.

Heather disappears for weeks at a time. I am the one who stays. I am the one who gets the girls to school, keeps the lights on, cooks, cleans, and comforts them when they cry. I am the parent.

And still, the system continues to treat her like one.

I have brought this evidence to the court. To CPS. To the police...and nothing has changed. Her attorney—a disgraced former mayor with a record of ethics violations—is helping her manipulate the system once again. Only this time, children are the collateral.

I am tired. But I cannot quit. I WILL NOT!

Because I do not have that option.

If something happens to me, or to one of my daughters, let this record show that I did everything I could. I followed every rule. I provided proof. I begged for help...and I was ignored.

The court did not even notify me when they reversed the protection order. If that does not prove something is broken, I do not know what does.

Why are abusers being protected while the people trying to keep children safe are treated like obstacles? Is it because I am the father? Do father's not have the right to keep their children safe?

This is not just my story. It is the story of thousands of parents and grandparents across the country. The ones who raise the alarm only to be silenced.

And so now, I am doing something I never wanted to do.

I am the founder of Cleveland 13, a grassroots community-powered news network built to give everyday people a voice. But today, I am publishing this story—my story—on my own network, because I have no other option.

I built Cleveland 13 to give people hope. To give them a voice. It is our motto: "Your Voice, Your News". I never wanted to use it to fight for my own survival. But when no one in power will listen, when law enforcement and the courts ignore undeniable evidence, when the system looks the other way, I will use every tool I have left to protect my children and bring attention to a crisis that affects more than just me.

This is bigger than my situation. It is about what happens when victims are silenced, when truth is ignored, and when broken systems give power back to people who abuse it.

So now, I am asking for your help.

I have secured a consultation with one of the best attorneys I could find. Even she admitted this will be a long, uphill, and expensive fight. I have been cut off from my finances, my income, and my assets. But right now, my daughters and I are safe; and I need it to stay that way.

I have until Thursday to raise at least $7,500 for the initial legal retainer. That is just the beginning of what this battle will cost. But it is what we need to keep our safety from being stripped away again.

Please, if you are able to help, here is the GoFundMe link:

🔗 https://gofund.me/00457fee

If you prefer to give directly:

💸 CashApp: $EarlOfNorthwood

🏦 Zelle: (440) 241-0934

Every unused penny will be returned once we are permanently safe. This is not about money. This is about survival.

I can be contacted at matt.greminger@cleveland13news.com if needed.

If you have ever known me, trusted me, worked with me, or laughed with me, I am asking you now—please help. Please share this. Please stand with me. My girls deserve better. So do yours.

-Matt Greminger (Father. Protector. Fighting anyway.)