Three Arrested in Allegedly Phony Hurricane Drive

Two San Fernando Valley residents are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Monday on charges of operating a Hurricane Katrina charity scam.

Tino Lee, 44, of Burbank and Gina Liz Nicholas, 22, of Glendale were each charged Friday with one count of impersonating an American Red Cross worker to fraudulently collect money. A 14-year-old girl was also arrested and later released to her parents. She has not been charged with a crime.

Lee, who police said also goes by the name Robert Lopez, and Nicholas face up to five years in prison if convicted.

They were arrested Thursday as they sat at a table outside a Best Buy store in Burbank. Atop the table was a collection box and a sign that read: “American Red Cross-Hurricane Disaster,” according to a charging document introduced in federal court Friday.

Burbank police officers questioned the three after noticing the laminated badges they were wearing appeared to have been poorly made. They were arrested after allegedly giving police conflicting stories about what they were doing and failing to provide valid Red Cross identification.

A Red Cross official said the three were not volunteers for the relief agency, according to police.

They had at least $500 in donations when they were arrested, said Burbank Police Lt. Brian Mathews.

“This may appear to be a small case, but the federal government wants people to know when they donate that their hard-earned dollars are going to people who need it most, and not into the pocket of thieves,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Ellyn Lindsay.

If criminals are going to “try and capitalize on the misery in the Gulf Coast, we will track them down,” she added.

Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, said that after checking with federal officials in Washington, his office believes this could be one of the first charity scam cases brought in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Prosecutors are considering filing a state fraud charge against the teenage girl, a police official said.