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16 charged with stealing WTC relief funds

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Manhattan district attorney's office said Tuesday that 16 people, including 12 Port Authority workers, have been arrested on charges of stealing money meant to help victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The 12 employees of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were accused of misrepresenting themselves to the American Red Cross and another charity, Safe Haven, to receive financial assistance. Both charities help the victims of the September 11 attacks and their families.

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District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said the men and women filed claims with the organizations stating they were unemployed, even though they were still being paid by the Port Authority.

The workers received benefits from the charities ranging from $100 to $3,000, according to the allegations.

The 12 were arrested over the past two days and were being arraigned on charges of larceny and false records.

The Port Authority's inspector general, Robert Van Etten, said he was "sick that employees would try to cheat the real victims," especially since the agency lost 75 people in the September 11 attacks and all its offices were destroyed.

The Port Authority, which owned the World Trade Center towers, has asked a number or charities, including the Red Cross, Safe Haven and the United Way, for names of Port Authority employees who might have filed for benefits.

One of the women charged in the alleged scam, Beverly Jones, told reporters she actually was injured in the September 11 attacks when she fell down the stairs in Tower One and hurt her leg.

The Red Cross told her she could apply for compensation, Jones said. She called the charges "not right."

Jones appeared in court Tuesday afternoon to face the charges after spending two days in jail. She resigned from her position at the Port Authority.

Some of the other Port Authority employees also have resigned or have been suspended from their positions.

In a separate matter, four members of the same family were charged Tuesday with grand larceny, accused of stealing more than $20,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Prosecutors said the four suspects claimed their apartments were damaged as a result of the World Trade Center attacks. They were scheduled to appear in court to face the charges Tuesday.

It was the second time Manhattan prosecutors have announced suspected scams against charities. A similar scam was revealed in early November.

The district attorney's office was investigating at least 50 others suspected of trying to cheat charities related to the September 11 attacks.

-- From CNN Correspondent Deborah Feyerick.



 
 
 
 



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