Red Cross scammer pleads guilty Red Cross scammer pleads guilty (October 21, 2005)

An East Palo Alto man who scammed a local chapter of the American Red Cross out of thousands of dollars by claiming to be a victim of Hurricane Katrina pled guilty last week to charges of burglary and grand theft, Palo Alto police spokesman Dan Ryan said.

Jamaine Dontae Barnes, 23, claimed to be two New Orleans residents by using his twin brother Jamar Deontae Barnes' name when trying to get financial and housing aid from the Palo Alto chapter of the Red Cross.

Jamaine Barnes went to the Red Cross on Sept. 16 and claimed he was a New Orleans resident who lost everything after Hurricane Katrina, Ryan said yesterday.

The Red Cross gave Barnes $965 in cash and a voucher worth $1,265, as he claimed he had four other family members who were displaced, according to Trish Bubenik, executive director of the Palo Alto chapter of the American Red Cross.

Barnes also received a 30-day lodging voucher for the Homestead Studio Suites in Sunnyvale.

On Sept. 20, four days after his first visit to the Red Cross, Barnes went back to the Red Cross asking for more handouts under his brother's name, Ryan said.

According to Ryan, Jamar Barnes will not be arrested and is not suspected of being involved in his brother's swindle.

Bubenik said volunteers now ask people claiming they were affected by Hurricane Katrina for Social Security numbers and drivers' licenses, which must pass a thorough verification process matching them with Louisiana's Department of Motor Vehicle records.

Bubenik said that names of six other people suspected of fraud have been turned over to the police.
-- Bay City News

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