Katrina Fraud Far and Wide

From sea to shining sea, people who lack morals and virtue are taking advantage of the Katrina Disaster. Up until now, when posting on this subject (Fraud in the Wake of Katrina), I have focused on some of the more organized scams. Here are a series of stories from local sources, which show some of the smaller frauds being committed.

Here is a story about a woman in Wilmington, North Carolina, who posed as a victim of Katrina, received money from the Red Cross and was later arrested. The story is courtesy of WECT in Wilmington.

http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=3835315&nav=2gQc

In another story from WFIE in Indiana, they are catching people posing as victims of Katrina. The article also states that "debit cards meant to help victims of Hurricane Katrina have been used at Victoria's Secret, Circuit City and Hooters."

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=3854158&nav=3w6o

Here is a story from the LA Times, who is reporting that 25 people in Houston, Texas have been arrested for claiming money they were not entitled to.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fraud17sep17,1,301513.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Last, but not least (we needed to hit the other shining sea), Sign on San Diego is reporting the arrest of three people in Burbank, California. They were posing as Red Cross Workers and soliciting donations.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050917-0457-ca-redcrossphonies.html

This story doesn't have anything to do with fraud, but to me it shows a total lack of justice, as well as, common decency by the New Orleans Police. A 73 year old grandmother was arrested for allegedly "looting" food from a Deli. She had taken about $65.00 worth of food to survive. The bottom line is that the food was going to spoil and I'm sure the Deli intends to file an insurance claim.

The woman was finally released after some attorneys took her case pro bono (free). Despite their assistance, this 73 year old woman was imprisoned in a correctional facility for sixteen days.

So far as looting, there were people stealing firearms, which were used to commit violent crimes and disrupt the rescue effort. It amazes me that given the problems the day after Katrina, the New Orleans Police were guarding a Deli. This is shameful and they should be held accountable for their actions!

On a lighter note, she would have probably been in real trouble if she had been caught "looting" a Donut shop.

There were also reports of the Police looting in New Orleans. Over the years, there have been numerous reports of corruption and abuses within this department.

Here is an article reporting Police involvement in the looting:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001051261

For the story from Yahoo, click on the title of this post.