Pair are facing fraud charges for charity scam

A Burbank man and a Glendale woman were charged in federal court

Monday with false impersonation of American Red Cross members to

solicit money under false pretenses.

Tino Lee,44, of Burbank, and Gina Liz Nicholas, 22, of Glendale,

were charged by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles for

impersonating American Red Cross volunteers taking donations for

Hurricane Katrina relief outside an electronics store in Burbank.

Lee and Nicholas were taken into federal custody on Monday morning

by FBI agents at the Burbank Police Department jail, where they had

been held since their arrest Thursday night at the Empire Center

shopping center.

A 14-year-old Pico Rivera girl taken into custody at the same time

was released to her parents.

Nearly $600 was recovered -- including a $200 check -- from the

donations Lee, Nicholas and the girl allegedly received outside a

Best Buy store, officials said.

Following a brief appearance in U.S. District Court, Nicholas was

released on a $10,000 bond and Lee on a $15,000 bond, Assistant U.S.

Atty. Ellyn Lindsay said.

The pair are scheduled to return to court on Oct. 11, Lindsay

said.

American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles spokesman H.T. Linke

said the incident should not discourage people from donating, but if

they are concerned, he advised they give to an organization with a

proven track record.

“If people want to be sure they are giving to a legitimate group

they should stick with those they have known and trusted,” Linke

said.

When American Red Cross solicits for donations in front of a

business, it will be done in conjunction with another agency, such as

what was done with the Burbank Fire Department on Sept. 7 outside the

AMC Theaters, Linke said.

Katie Mitzner, a spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau of the

Southland, was not aware of any other Katrina-related scams in

Southern California.

“We know it’s going on,” Mitzner said. “It takes a while for us to

find out about them, because complaints come from people who have had

lost money.”

A Burbank Police officer spotted the trio, and the poor condition

of identification badges they wore and their lack of documentation

proving they were collecting for the Red Cross made the officer

suspicious.

A box containing change, $1 and $5 bills and the check also roused

suspicion, the affidavit said.

“It was old and torn, and had a flier for American Red

Cross/Katrina taped to the front,” according to an affidavit filed by

FBI Special Agent Perry Woo. “The opening was torn and messy. The box

was a plain cardboard box wrapped in white paper.”

From interviews with Best Buy employees and customers who had

given donations, police learned that Lee and Nicholas had been

soliciting in front of the store for several days, the affidavit

said.