Posted by Crime and Punishment, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Sep 15, 2007 at 12:14 am

This gentleman should be sent to New Orleans to work in clean up crews, for $5 an hour, until he generates 10 times the amount that he defrauded the Red Cross.

He would receive not one penny of that money, and instead be housed in the local jail, until he earns his way out.

Posted by Accountability, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Sep 16, 2007 at 5:25 am

I think the RED CROSS employee who created that form should be fired as well.

Posted by Please, a resident of Menlo Park, on Sep 16, 2007 at 12:03 pm

Oh please, no one "makes up" a form for this sort of thing. It was a standardized national policy for the entire organization, coast to coast. Remember that absolutely legitimate clients lost everything when they evacuated-- no ID, no nothing. How were they supposed to be identified? Shame on the scammers, not on the Red Cross. Better to help a few fraudulent people than not provide any assistance to those who really needed it.

Posted by Me, a resident of the Palo Alto Hills neighborhood, on May 7, 2008 at 4:08 pm

Believe me. This person will end up losing more than he ever got from scamming the government. They will try to keep him in jail longer than a child molester and when he gets out he'll never be able to get a job again. I'm not saying what he did was right but the punishment will not match the crime. The first comment was very good- good idea for punishment. A lot of people who attempt what they think is a victimless crime do so because they feel that the government owes them and sometimes they do! Don't judge- get an understanding.