JERSEY CITY, N.J. – A woman who told authorities her husband died in the World Trade Center attack so she could collect $3,000 in aid has pleaded guilty to theft.
Toni Lorraine Palk, 28, used the name Katherine Thomas when she sought help Sept. 25 at a New Jersey help center. Palk claimed her husband was Robert Benjamin Thomas, a Xerox accountant who died Sept. 11, Prosecutor Michael D’Andrea said Monday.
A routine background check by state police later revealed Palk used a false name and that there was no Xerox accountant named Thomas. By that time, the Red Cross had already paid for two weeks of shelter at a motel, as well as food, clothing, medical treatment and living expenses.
Palk faces up to five years in prison when she is sentenced on April 19.
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