Two charged with Hurricane Katrina scam plead innocent
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Two people pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of impersonating American Red Cross workers in what authorities said was a scam prompted by the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.
Tino Lee, 44, and 19-year-old Gina Liz Nicholas were arrested Sept. 15 after a police officer saw them collecting donations at a table outside a Best Buy store in Burbank, holding a sign reading "American Red Cross-Katrina Disaster."
Police said the arresting officer was suspicious of the makeshift badges the solicitors were wearing and asked to see formal Red Cross identification.
Best Buy employees told investigators the two and a minor who was not arrested had been soliciting funds for a week before the arrests, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellyn Lindsay.
On the day Lee and Nicholas made their first court appearance, according to Lindsay, a group of Nicholas' family members visited a local Red Cross office with a plastic bag full of cash they said had been collected.
Lee's attorney, Robert Welbourn, said Lee and Nicholas always intended to give the money to the Red Cross.
