Brian Hines and his sister, Charmaine Hines, have been charged with stealing Red Cross debit cards that were meant to go to Hurricane Katrina evacuees. A Red Cross employee researching missing debit cards came across one debit card loaded with $4,695, which corresponded to a card number on a piece of paper in the possession of Mr. Hines. At least 100 cards were missing, and it was determined that approximately half were activated with an unusual value of $4,695 each.

Mr. Hines eventually admitted that he used stolen Red Cross debit cards to get cash out of ATMs. He also admitted giving 20 to 25 debit cards to his sister. Mr. Hines stated that he bought jewelry, vehicles, clothes, and shoes with the money. The investigation is ongoing, but the Red Cross estimates the loss at about $230,000.

Read the DOJ press release here.