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Hammond Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding American Red Cross
CYNTHIA McGOWAN, 27, a resident of Hammond, LA, pled guilty in federal court today before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to one count of wire fraud related to fraudulent applications for financial assistance that she submitted to the American Red Cross between September 2005 and October 2005, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, McGOWAN applied for and received disaster assistance funds from the American Red Cross nine (9) times. 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. McGOWAN repeatedly applied for these funds in September and October of 2005, indicating on several occasions that she had not received any money from the Red Cross. In all, McGOWAN fraudulently obtained $12,520 from the American Red Cross.
Upon sentencing, scheduled for January 14, 2010, McGOWAN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and is subject to a $250,0000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharan E. Lieberman.
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