Charged in Katrina fraud

A woman has been charged with fraud and grand larceny for falsely claiming to be a Hurricane Katrina victim and stealing more than $60,700 in emergency benefits – including $53,000 for lodging over a six-month period while she resided at the Ramada Plaza Hotel near LaGuardia Airport.
Donna Fenton, 36, of Brooklyn, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of grand larceny in the second, third and fourth degrees, scheme to defraud in the first degree, falsifying business records in the first degree and petit larceny.
According to District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Fenton, between October 2005 and March 2006, resided in two rooms booked for herself and her family at LaGuardia Airport’s Ramada Plaza Hotel. The bill for lodging during that time totaled $53,486.62.
A court-authorized search warrant drafted by Brown’s Economic Crimes Bureau was executed on March 30, 2006 on the Ramada Plaza hotel room where the defendant had been residing. Detectives recovered numerous documents pertaining to the benefits that the defendant had received as well as other information that she had received donations from various individuals and agencies.
Fenton took emergency disaster relief benefits in the form of debit cards of over $1,000 by the American Red Cross; received financial assistance of $944 from the Federal Protestant Welfare Agencies for the purpose of furnishing an apartment for herself and her family; cashed four Chase debit cards totaling $600 issued by Catholic Charities, and received a check in the amount of $4,500 by Federal Home Loan Bank located on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
Fenton also allegedly defrauded a kind-hearted Queens woman who read in The New York Times that the defendant was a Hurricane Katrina victim and sent her a $250 check.
“In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, many people opened their hearts and pocketbooks to those left homeless by the storm,” said Brown. “Unfortunately, there were also a few scam artists who were quick to take advantage of people’s generosity. The defendant is charged with stealing over $60,700 in Hurricane Katrina survivor benefits intended for the truly needy survivors. She has been caught and will now be held accountable for her actions.”
Repeated calls to the hotel yielded no comment, as Antje Eichinger, general manager, told The Queens Courier, “We do not disclose any information about our customers.”