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Red Cross Combats Fraud with Federal Partners
Written by
Lesly C. Simmons
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Thursday, October 06, 2005 — Some people thousands of miles away from areas affected by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina have applied for assistance from the American Red Cross or other charities, using addresses in places where they have never actually lived. While cases like these are not common, they are both dishonest and illegal, and the Red Cross works hard to prevent this kind of fraud and others whenever it can.
Red Cross chapters across the country use uniform guidelines to determine the amount of assistance to be issued based on family size and immediate, emergency-caused needs for necessities such as food, clothing and other essentials. This makes it pointless for people to “shop” for higher levels of assistance from different Red Cross service centers.
Glenda Rigsby (left) of Beaumont, Texas, completes paperwork to receive a Red Cross debit card, as volunteers Hamza Ali and Deb Signorino look over the forms at a service center in Austin. (Photo Credit: Michael Seamans/American Red Cross) |
“When the Red Cross is defrauded we seek full restitution, and we ask authorities to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Devorah Goldburg. “We are a charity and our assistance is given with the donated dollar from the public—we take fraud seriously.”
To stop those who do attempt to cheat the system, the Red Cross participates in the Department of Justice’s Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, which also includes members from the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Postal Inspector’s Office, and the Executive Office of the United States Attorneys, among others.
“It’s a very coordinated effort,” said Goldburg. “We do not take this lightly at all.”
To add perspective, the Red Cross to date has provided financial assistance to nearly 3 million people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita victims, and has only been led to investigate about a small percentage of them. The vast majority of people applying are truly in need of Red Cross assistance.
One such person who is grateful for that assistance is Shari Sames, a New Orleans resident who evacuated the day before Hurricane Katrina hit. Sames returned to Washington, D.C., where she lived before moving to New Orleans with her boyfriend, Otis Towns, who was a law student at Tulane University before the storm.
“We evacuated with a friend who took me, my boyfriend, and our two cats to Atlanta, and we waited there for a few days until it was clear that we could not go back to New Orleans,” said Sames. “We decided to come back to D.C. since we knew we would have a support network there.”
“Once we arrived in D.C. I visited the Red Cross,” Sames continued. “I filled out all the necessary forms to get assistance and open a case file, and I sat down with a case worker who asked where I lived in New Orleans, who I lived with, if I had any dependents. He asked about rental insurance. He also had me tell him in great detail what happened from the moment that I evacuated New Orleans, and whether I knew anything about the condition of our apartment after the storm.”
Although the questions were extensive, Sames felt comfortable answering and providing information because she knew it was important in order to receive assistance.
“Since my driver’s license was from out of state, I took in my checkbook with my New Orleans address,” said Sames. "I made sure that there were several ways to verify our residency. The Red Cross made it clear that the money they gave would be enough to help us get started with clothing and food—necessities. They also gave us information about other organizations that were supporting Katrina evacuees, so that we could get help with health care, job placement, and finding housing.”
Unfortunately, there are many people out there willing to take advantage of the kindness of others by creating fraudulent websites using reputable names like that of the Red Cross and other groups to gather credit card information and other personal details.
There are several ways donors can ensure that their donation goes directly to the American Red Cross. They can:
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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