25 charged over World Trade Centre scams

Another 25 people were charged today with using a variety of schemes to steal money from charities set up to help victims of the World Trade Centre terrorist attacks.

Since September 11, Manhattan prosecutors have charged 76 people with stealing money intended to help relatives and victims of the disaster.

One group was led by Woodrow Flemming, a 48-year-old homeless man who hired 13 other homeless people to help him steal more than $100,000 (€114,000) from the Red Cross and another charity called Safe Horizon, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.

The other 11 defendants included three city employees and a Safe Horizon employee. They are accused of stealing relief money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the Red Cross and Safe Horizon.