"even" officials? Must be serious then. Bruce
Hurricane Fraud Cases Surprise Even Officials By <http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=ERIC%20LIPTON&fdq=199601 01&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=ERIC%20LIPTON&inline=nyt-per> ERIC LIPTON New York Times October 06, 2005 WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - There is the <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessio ns/louisiana/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Louisiana woman who reportedly used her aunt's New Orleans address and her brother's name to file a false claim for federal aid for Hurricane Katrina. There are the Red Cross contract workers in <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessio ns/california/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> California who are accused of cashing in on benefits for fictitious hurricane victims. And there are the two <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessio ns/florida/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Florida residents who turned to the government for help, citing two hurricane-damaged houses in Slidell, La., that investigators say do not exist. More than a month after the hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast, evidence is mounting that cheaters across the nation are trying to cash in on the catastrophe with a boldness that surprises even some longtime law enforcement officials. "It is just amazing to me the moral values that seem to exist," said McGregor W. Scott, the <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/un itedstates/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> United States attorney in Fresno, Calif., where nine area residents have been charged with defrauding the American Red Cross in a case involving false claims submitted to a Red Cross call center in Bakersfield, Calif. The first scams involved fraudulent fund-raising, including fake Internet charities like AirKatrina.com, run by a Florida man who claimed to be piloting flights to Louisiana to provide emergency medical supplies. "I saw dogs wrapped in electrical lines still alive and sparks flying from their bodies being electrocuted, as well as some people dead already," the pilot, Gary S. Kraser of Aventura, Fla., wrote in a pitch that helped raise almost $40,000 from 48 people. He has been charged with four counts of wire fraud. The fraudulent acts now include people charged with trying to collect charity or government aid. John Phillip Dugan, 19, of Baton Rouge, La., filed a claim using a false address and admitted to federal investigators that he intended to use the $2,000 in federal aid to pay for car repairs, a complaint filed against him said. Barney Spears, 38, of Houston, and Nakia Grimes, 30, of Atlanta, separately claimed to be New Orleans residents in applying for federal aid, but investigators found that they lived hundreds of miles away, according to criminal complaints. Veronica Jaeger, 22, and Kenneth M. Hodge, 33, both of Florida, separately claimed to live in houses in Slidell that a review by federal authorities says did not exist. In Bakersfield, Red Cross staff members hired through a contractor created fake hurricane victims and issued checks on their behalf that the workers cashed or passed to friends or relatives, investigators say. The plot was detected, officials added, after the Red Cross noticed an unusually large number of money orders being sent to the area around its call center. Nine people have been charged on claims totaling $25,000. Mr. Scott said the numbers would most likely increase. "You have got the Katrina victims who have been completely traumatized," he said. "And you have good-hearted American people reaching out trying to help their fellow citizens at a time of need." The Justice Department has filed cases against 15 individuals. Local officials in Houston and other cities have filed charges in at least 50 cases. Hundreds of other cases are being reviewed, including more than 300 involving the Red Cross, a spokeswoman for the organization said. The number represents a tiny share of the more than 2.2 million households that have applied for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Red Cross and that are collecting $2.44 billion in federal aid and $854 million from the Red Cross, officials say. Because of the enormous amount of aid money and the history of fraud after past catastrophes like the Sept. 11 attacks and the hurricanes in Florida last year, the Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, set up special teams to investigate crimes related to Hurricane Katrina. "We are not only going to punish it when it does happen," said Alice S. Fisher, assistant attorney general of the criminal division, who leads a special Katrina Fraud Task Force the Justice Department has established. "We are going to try to prevent it." Congress has added $15 million for the inspector general of the Homeland Security Department to conduct the investigations, as well as others on hurricane relief contractors. The President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, made up of inspectors general, recommends allocating $45 million, enough to pay for 300 auditors and investigators. Police officials in Houston have been aggressive. The Police Department sent undercover officers to a relief center to pose as victims and aid workers. The investigation found people who were bragging about applying repeatedly for one-time grants or who submitted fake identifications or addresses in an effort to obtain aid. "Obviously, I am sure that a few got through," a spokesman for the police, Sgt. Nate McDuell, said. "We only wish there were more arrests." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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