New York: A 26-year-old woman has been arrested here on charges of falsely claiming half a million dollars by posing as a victim of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Andrea Gause, a resident of New York, collected the sum from the charity `One Fund Boston` by producing false medical documents, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said on Friday.
She was awarded USD 480,000 by the non-profit organisation after claiming that she had suffered a traumatic brain injury in the bombings. Three people were killed and over 260 injured in the bombings at the finish line of Boston marathon on April 15 this year.
Arrested on charges of larceny on a Massachusetts fugitive warrant, Gause is currently being held without bail before the next hearing on Tuesday, CNN said. In a press conference on Friday, Coakley said the matter came to light after the offices of state attorney general and One Fund Boston received a tip that Gause was not in Boston at the time of the bombings.
It was then that an official investigation was launched into Gause`s claims, she added.
"That investigation determined that Gause was not a patient at Boston Medical Center or Albany Medical Center at the times allegedly entered on her notarised claim form," Coakley was quoted by CNN as saying.
"She was stealing money from the real victims of the Marathon bombing, and from the people who gave so generously to help them," the Massachusetts Attorney General said.
Further investigation into involvement of other people in Gause`s alleged fraud is currently on. One Fund Boston was established by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to assist victims of the bombings and their families. It has received donations over USD 60 million and began distributing funds to select cases from June 30. PTI