Posted on 07/23/2004 1:02:11 PM PDT by wmichgrad
A Sparta woman took advantage of the flood of charity following the destruction of the World Trade Center towers to scam more than $70,000 from the American Red Cross, police say.
Donna Miller, 49, told officials with the Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program that her husband, Michael, died when the towers fell in 2001, according to Detective Steve Moon with the Kent County Sheriff's Department.
Miller allegedly made the claim during the frantic days following the attacks and collected eight checks over 10 months, starting in November 2001, Moon said. At least one of the checks was for more than $20,000.
Red Cross officials in New York City became concerned when Miller was unable to provide documentation of her husband's death.
Officials contacted the sheriff's department, asking them to check out the situation to see if Miller was in need of assistance -- or if something else was going on.
Moon met Donna Miller at her home and, as he was interviewing her about her allegedly dead husband, the man walked into the room, the detective said.
Miller turned herself in Thursday at Rockford District Court. She is charged with three felony counts of false pretense. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison in addition to restitution costs.
She was released on a $10,000 bond and has a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 25.
Moon said there is no proof that Michael Miller participated in the alleged scam, and he is not being charged.
Friends and neighbors were shocked to hear about the charges against a woman they described as friendly and helpful.
Next-door neighbor Archie Cumings said he has known the Millers since they moved in and remodeled their house more than 15 years ago.
"It just doesn't seem possible," said Cumings, who has lived at the home for decades with his wife, Maxine, both in their 80s. "Whenever they had a get-together, they made a point of inviting us over for barbecue."
Cumings said Donna Miller helped his wife back to the house when she fell in the driveway recently, and Michael Miller always is willing to lend them a hand with yard work.
Cumings said he has seen no evidence the couple had come into money, although police say the money has been spent.
The two-story home on Martindale Street in Sparta is typical of homes in the area, with a modest above-ground pool and a decades-old camper truck parked near the home. In the rear, chickens scratch at feed near a storage barn.
"We've seen no evidence of them spending money or anything like that," Cumings said. "They're just regular people."
As TV crews camped out near their driveway Thursday, no one stirred at the Miller home. The couple could not be reached for comment.
Donna Miller has no criminal record and Moon would not speculate on her motives.
Fraudulent claims of loved ones lost in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 are not uncommon. In the days following the attack, the death toll was estimated at more than 5,000. The official death toll now stands at 2,749, according to the New York City medical examiner's office.
The Red Cross took in about $1.1 billion in donations for Sept. 11 victims and their families, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. About 80 percent of that providee immediate relief, with about $215 million going to long-term needs.
The Red Cross estimates $596 million has been given in direct aid to victims and families.
A number of people have been charged with bilking the Red Cross fund, including a New Jersey man who claimed he lost two wives in the disaster and a Lansing man who was convicted of grand larceny after claiming a fictitious brother died, for which he was charged with collecting about $273,000.
False claims have come from across the country and include a San Diego man who collected $136,000 for the death of his wife and mother of his 10 children. He allegedly gambled away the money at casinos, according to police reports.
The NYPD's special frauds squad has been working cases in which fraud is suspected and Red Cross case workers also alert local law enforcement agencies when anything is amiss, as was the case with Donna Miller.
Two wives??
He actually was from Utah.
The timing of this is suspicious. Sounds to me like the story was leaked by Republicans.
O. I C.
Two wives ...
budda-boom [rimshot]
She had just misplaced her husband. Simple case of sloppiness. Nothing to see here.
Too bad it wasn't one of the "Jersey Girls".
A NM phony who scammed $650,000 from the fund exposed here:
New Mexican's Claims of Ground Zero Rescue Work Called Into Question
A 9/11 Phony — a series published starting July 11, 2004
Self-proclaimed rescue guru Doug Copp's mission to ground zero was considered so important that he had clearance to be flown to New York even though all civilian air traffic in the United States had been grounded. Once there, he says he assumed a pivotal role and sustained devastating injuries while wading through the "toxic soup" in search of survivors and victims, and was awarded nearly $650,000 for his injuries. But there is little evidence Copp performed real rescue work, and it is doubtful that he deserves compensation. http://www.abqjournal.com/terror/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1169532/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1170125/posts
Ping!
I think this has happened several times. Some people who happened to skip work that day just used the opportounity to disappear.
The judge is disgusting too. $10K bail on a $70K heist? She's probably at the airport as we speak.
I'm gonna remember that one. Funneeeeeee.
You, of course, are correct. How sloppy of me. :^)
Moon said there is no proof that Michael Miller participated in the alleged scam
He lived, didn't he? I'd call that participation.
"It just doesn't seem possible," ... "Whenever they had a get-together, they made a point of inviting us over for barbecue."
Well, that settles it for me.
I hope the authorities put her sorry ass under the jail for a long long time. Must have been a liberal democrat. Bush/Cheney 2004
So they were handing out money to just anyone with a sob story and no way to back it up?
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