On the eve of the Hurricane Katrina anniversary, a man who operated fake businesses in the Washington area pleaded guilty Monday to stealing the identities of disaster victims to collect more than $100,000 in government benefits.
Jeffrey Alan Rothschild, 58, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to U.S. Attorney?s Office.
Rothschild, who also goes by the name of Jeffrey Alan Zahler and claims to be a resident of Louisiana and California, opened up bank accounts for fake businesses in D.C. and Alexandria using a fake identity.
He then took advantage of a Federal Emergency Management Agency program, established in the aftermath of Katrina, to send up to $2,000 to hurricane disaster victims on the Gulf Coast.
Rothschild found the dates of birth and Social Security numbers of up to 50 hurricane victims to apply for the $2,000 in disaster assistance, according to charging documents.
He had those checks sent to him at various addresses in Tennessee, D.C. and New York, authorities said.
Rothschild also opened bank accounts in D.C. and elsewhere.
He wrote checks back andforth between these accounts, depositing overdrawn checks and withdrawing cash before any of the banks could trace the money back, according to the government?s charging document.
