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  1. #1
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Audrea Gause Steals $500K from Boston Marathon Victims

    Audrea Gause Steals $500K from Boston Marathon Victims

    Added by Angelina Bouc on July 20, 2013.
    Saved under Lina Bouc, U.S.
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    Audrea Gause, 26, was never in the Boston area during the tragic day of April 15. Yet, on June 3rd the Troy, New York woman filed fake, notarized reports and submitted it to The One Fund Boston. Her claim stated she endured a traumatic brain injury when she was reportedly admitted to the Boston Medical Center for two days and then transferred by the hospital team to Albany Medical Center. There, she claimed in her report, she remained for 10 days and suffered hearing, memory and motor function loss. One Fund issued her payment of $500,000 late last month.

    Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley received a tip last week from an unknown source, claiming Gause’s claim was fraudulent. Due diligence was completed by her office. Boston Medical Center and Albany Medical Center denied that Gause had checked into their hospital on any of the days she stated in her claim. In addition, unknown sources informed Coakley that Gause was never in the immediate area during the bombings.

    Gause joins another individual who submitted an allegedly false claim. Branden Mattier, 22, who was charged with larceny for defrauding the fund well above the $500,000 Gause is accused of. Mattier received $2 million from the fund after claiming his aunt lost limbs from the bombing, his trial is currently in process. The One Fund was set up shortly after the bombings to assist the victims and their families. The fund has received over $64 million in donations from businesses and individuals.

    Over 260 people were injured and three killed from the bombings that occurred during the Boston Marathon. Two pressure cooker bombs exploded 13 seconds apart. Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were identified by authorities, and the manhunt begun. Tamerlan was captured and reported dead upon arrival at the hospital, six days after the bombings. Dzhokhar was captured and admitted to the hospital for injuries. On April 22, he was formally charged by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts while recovering in a hospital bed. The defendant pleaded not guilty July 10th to all charges.

    The One Fund was created to assist victims and their families with overwhelming medical expenses and other costs of transportation and assistance. Gause treated it as a way to win her own personal lottery when she submitted a claim of medical treatment. When the Troy police department was notified of Gause’s involvement in the fraud claim, Captain John Cooney shared his thoughts,

    “She is not a stranger to our department,” said Cooney, noting prior offenses with document fraud and fake checks.

    Gause took to Facebook shortly after the funds were deposited into her account with SEFCU on July 1. She posted on Facebook multiple times bragging about the money she came into calling it “new-found cash” and how she planned to spend it. In addition, police and investigators are looking into Gause’s boyfriend. He was thanked by Gause, for his help.

    Authorities are certain the money would be recovered. Gause had planned using it on building a home and the builder had not yet received the funds. Coakley explained the findings against Gause,

    “We allege that this defendant defrauded The One Fund Boston of $480,000. By doing this, she was stealing money from the real victims of the Marathon bombing, and from the people who gave so generously to help them.”
    The process of checking The One Fund is currently in process by Coakley’s office as applications and claims continue to come in requesting funds. The paperwork will now undergo increased scrutiny and verification methods.

    Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino held a brief conference:

    “It is terrible to think that people would compound the Marathon tragedy by stealing money from survivors, but I am grateful we have such excellent partners in the Attorney General, in law enforcement, in the One Fund, and in a watchful public,” he said.

    The Attorney General’s Office is imploring anyone who may know of potential fraud to contact the State Police unit assigned to the Attorney General’s Office at 617-963-2223. For Gause, she was booked into Rensselaer County Jail without bail. On Tuesday she will be considered for extradition to Massachusetts where larceny charges are expected to be levied against her, during the recovery of the $500,000. There has not been an official checklist from the fund determining how the claims and cross verification, if any, are completed prior to payout.

    http://guardianlv.com/2013/07/audrea...athon-victims/

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Aspiring rapper 'tried to defraud Boston Marathon bombing victims' fund of $2.2M by claiming his aunt lost both legs in attack... even though she died 10 YEARS earlier'


    Branden Mattier, 22, charged with attempted larceny and identity theft

    Accused of attempted to defraud The One Fund by filing claim on behalf of his long-deceased aunt Onevia Bradley


    By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

    PUBLISHED: 17:48 EST, 2 July 2013


    Busted: Branden Mattier, 22, was arrested when police say he accepted a fake check for $.2.2million from an undercover officer after filing a bogus claim with the Boston bombing victims' fund

    A Boston man has been arrested after police say he used the name of an aunt who had been dead for more than a decade to try and claim about $2.2million from the Boston Marathon bomb victims fund.

    The Massachusetts Attorney General's office said Branden Mattier, 22, told the fund's administrators that his aunt, Onevia Bradley, lost both of her legs in the attack on April 15 when two improvised pressure cooker bombs exploded at the finish line, killing three people and injuring 264 others.

    But Miss Bradley the aunt had been dead for more than 10 years and Mattier was arrested at his home in Boston when an undercover police officer presented him with a fake check for $2.2million, prosecutors said.

    ‘Because every dollar was allocated to victims, he sought to take these funds away from real victims of the Marathon attack and from the thousands of people who had so generously given to help those who truly need it,’ Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement.

    Mattier, an aspiring rapper and self-described film maker, is being charged with attempted larceny and identity theft. He is expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
    The marathon bombing victims’ fund, called The One Fund, was established by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. It has so far brought in more than $62million in donations, according to its website.

    The fund is being managed by Kenneth Feinberg, an arbitration attorney who also oversaw compensation for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado.

    Brazen: Mattier posted this photo online of himself posing with an administrator from The One Fund, accompanied by the caption: 'Just spoke with Feinberg about what we can provide to help the city move forward in this tragedy, he loved it.'





    Big scam: Mattier (left and right) allegedly told the fund that his aunt lost both of her legs in the April 15 attack, but as it turns out, the woman had been dead for more than 10 years



    Aspiring rapper: Mattier (right), who goes by the stage name The Real Soulja Boy, now faces attempted larceny and identity theft charges

    Coakley said The One Fund flagged Mattier’s claim because it appeared ‘a little unusual,’ and passed it on to her office earlier this month.

    According to a press release from the Attorney General's office, the investigation revealed that on May 7, Mattier attended a Town Hall meeting at the Boston Public Library on behalf of his supposedly injured aunt.

    Three weeks later, he followed up by sending an email to The One Fund asking if his aunt could make a claim as a double amputee if the amputation was expected to be performed in the future.

    'In June, The One Fund received Mattier’s claim form along with a letter allegedly from the chief of trauma services at the Boston Medical Center affirming his aunt as a double amputee,' the release stated. 'The letter was dated May 2, a full 27 days before Mattier’s email.'

    Charity: The marathon bombing victims' fund, called The One Fund, was established by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to help the victims of the attack


    Tragedy: Two improvised pressure cooker bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon April 15 , killing three people and injuring 264 others

    According to officials, the letter from the hospital was a forgery, and that Mattier’s aunt was never treated there.

    Mattier, who goes by the stage name The Real Soulja Boy, posted a photo May 7 on his Instagram account of himself posing with an administrator from The One Fund, accompanied by the caption: 'Just spoke with Feinberg about what we can provide to help the city move forward in this tragedy, he loved it. #OneFundBoston #Boston #BostonMarathon [new inner city developments on the way.] �� #ss'
    In another image uploaded that same day, Mattier is seen holding paperwork at the offices of The One Found. The caption for this photo read: 'Big Meeting w/ The One Fund Boston, & Kenneth Feinberg, Re-Building The City After The Bombing. #Boston #OneFund'

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...fund-2-2m.html

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