Posted on 09/16/2005 12:22:01 AM PDT by Uncle Joe Cannon
Katrina Evacuee Imposters Arrested
POSTED: 7:17 pm CDT September 15, 2005 UPDATED: 7:38 pm CDT September 15, 2005
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas -- Some local criminals looking to take advantage of Hurricane Katrina are abusing the Red Cross, Good Will and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, authorities said.
At least two people have been arrested for posing as storm evacuees in order to receive money and other emergency handouts.
"They recognized people who have been in the Bexar County Jail before and that's how we arrested a couple of them," said Deputy Chief Henry Martinez, of the Bexar County Sheriff's office.
Jacqueline Johnson was busted for accepting donations from the Red Cross.
Corrections officers volunteering at Freeman Coliseum recognized her and another man.
A third person is being investigated for the same crime, but Martinez admits there is no way of knowing how many other criminals have gotten away with the same scheme.
"The problem lies in not being able to identify a lot of these people," said Martinez. "Most of them got out in the nick of time and weren't able to bring any identification with them, so the Red Cross and FEMA are forced to take their word for how they are. All we can depend on right now is those people being recognized as local citizens by our officers who have dealt with them in the past."
Those who get caught could face charges, including theft, fraud and forgery.
Martinez expects more people will be arrested for attempting the same crime.
He said verbal warnings are now made when evacuees arrive to collect their money and other donations.
With so much money sloshing around, this is bound to happen, only on a much larger scale.
What controls do they have in place?
And if the govt. agencies ask too many questions to aid applicants, then the media will say "Fema is dragging its feet!"
Why aren't people accepting aid being fingerprinted?
4 reasons Mewxilla, A, C, L, U...:)
I've had to do it sometimes when banking. I don't get my knickers in a knot.
Federal charity, with the taxpayers' money, should.
Like if a warrant was out on them?
Wouldn't hurt the Red Cross, either.
Why?
If it cuts down on this kinda thing, there'd be more money to go around, wouldn't there? And people might be more inclined to donate if they thought their donation wasn't going to be squandered or ripped off.
We donated to the SA, too.
I agree with the poster that drew a distinction between charity and taxpayer money. Charity is different.
Just as a welfare receipient has responsibilities of identification, so should the evacuees. Given their special circumstances a fingerprint is a reasonable compromise.
Even if we were to view this as charity, those committing fraud are harming the intended goal - they are depriving those for whom the "charity" is intended.
Good point. Perhaps its only value is as a "sticker policy" deterrent.
Chipping away at our freedom (9/15/05)
"Has anybody else been wondering what former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has been up to since he left his position as U.S. secretary of health and human services earlier this year? It turns out he assumed a position as a director of VeriChip Corp., a division of Florida-based Applied Digital and a leading developer of human implanted microchip technology, also known as radio-frequency identification."
Most people use their SS and DL #'s so much.... especially welfare recipients... that I would immediately suspicious of someone who couldn't "remember" some sort of verifiable ID info.
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