Former Employee Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Red Cross

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Kenyetta N. Graham, age 25, of Melrose, N.Y., pled guilty today in United States District Court to federal wire fraud charges in connection with a scheme to defraud the Red Cross out of funds earmarked for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement today after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Graham faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of at least $250,000, and full restitution when she is sentenced on July 10, 2009.

Following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Graham was employed as a call agent at an American Red Cross call center in Falls Church, Va.  As a call agent, Graham received information from hurricane victims and processed their claims for disaster relief funds.  She created fictitious claimants by fabricating the names and addresses of purported victims.  The Red Cross computerized processing system generated claim numbers for the fake victims that Graham then provided to accomplices posing as victims who received disaster relief funds wired to Western Union outlets.

This case was investigated by the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Belevetz is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov..