9 Charged with stealing Hurricane Katrina Relief

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Nine people in Bakersfield, California have been charged with bilking the Red Cross of more than $25,000. Four of the nine people charged, were contract workers at a Red Cross call center in Bakersfield.

The Red Cross said it set up the national call center in Bakersfield for Hurricane Katrina victims seeking assistance. Operators provide qualifying victims with a personal identification number they then present to receive funds from Western Union.

The workers would call up friends giving them unused PIN numbers, and often would give friends the same PIN numbers they just issued to Hurricane Katrina victims, causing a race to Western Union.

The Red Cross became suspicious and called in the FBI when they noticed an unuaually high number of people in Bakersfield receiving Hurricane Katrina aid. Several more arrests are expected to me made still.