61 People Indicted in Hurricane Scheme
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The number of Bakersfield-area people indicted in a scheme that bilked thousands of dollars from an American Red Cross fund designated for Hurricane Katrina victims has risen to 61, federal authorities said.
After Hurricane Katrina, the Red Cross rushed to set up call centers to provide victims with an identification number to receive aid funds.
The Bakersfield center was the largest.
The Red Cross contacted the FBI after it discovered an unusually high number of claims were being paid out at Western Union outlets in the Bakersfield area.
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