Posted on September 15, 2005

Police Say Woman Posed As Evacuee To Get Cash

AP, September 13, 2005

Lithonia, GA — A woman charged with posing as an evacuee in order to gain money from the American Red Cross remained in the Cobb County jail on a $2,500 bond Tuesday.

Police arrested 36-year-old Beretta Jo Hogg on Saturday and charged her with theft by deception. According to police, Hogg showed up at a relief shelter in Marietta with her eight-year-old son. She claimed to have lost everything in the hurricane. Hogg waited in line, filled out the paperwork, and was given $1,300 in aid.

A woman who felt sorry for Hogg took her and her son into her own home. However, the son told the woman he attended school in Stone Mountain. The woman called authorities and Hogg was arrested and taken to jail.