Press Releases
SLIDELL WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING AMERICAN RED CROSS
October 14, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STACIE M. DAWSON, age 46, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, pleaded guilty in federal court today before U. S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. to one count of wire fraud relating to a series of fraudulent applications for financial assistance that she submitted to the American Red Cross, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, the Red Cross made disaster assistance money of up to $1565 available to those affected by the hurricanes of 2005 on a one-time only basis. DAWSON admitted that she applied for and received disaster assistance funds from the Red Cross on seven occasions times between September 9, 2005 and October 6, 2005. DAWSON repeatedly applied for these funds throughout the early fall of 2005, each time indicating that she had not yet received any money at all from the Red Cross. In all, DAWSON fraudulently obtained $7,860.00 from the American Red Cross.
DAWSON faces a possible maximum sentence of twenty (20) years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been scheduled for January 20, 2009 at 10:00 A.M.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.
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