A Florida gay and lesbian newspaper, The Express, has reported that a gay man may have scammed Sept. 11 relief agencies for $25,000.
Patric Henn, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, has been claiming to be the life partner of a World Trade Center victim named Jeff John Andersen. No other relative of Jeff John Andersen has ever come forward, and the name is not listed on any official victim list.
Henn has filled out a number of forms
in the course of applying for money in the last few months, but none of the information he has provided about Andersen has been confirmed. Further, Henn's forms conflict with each other, and several addresses and other pieces of information are demonstrably false, the Express reported.
After the attack, Henn traveled to New York and solicited money from the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA). ESPA's former executive director, Matt Foreman, told the Express that he arranged for Henn to receive $1,000 to tide him over, and personally cashed the check on Henn's behalf. Although Henn demanded more money, Foreman says that he and his organization were unable to comply since Henn could not produce the slightest evidence of his relationship with Andersen. Henn's various stories did not add up.
"I spent an enormous amount of time attempting to help Mr. Henn," said Foreman. "But he was unable to provide one scrap of information to document his relationship."
Red Cross agent Carmen Almeida-Biggart told the Express that she helped Henn tap thousand of dollars of relief, and had assumed that he had shown evidence of his status as a survivor to the Red Cross national office.
"Everybody is amazed because we went along in the early days and nobody wanted to upset anybody. … It's unbelievable to ride on the backs of victims of this disaster. He has hurt more people than he will ever realize. To use his gayness as an excuse for lacking documentation hurts all of us."
In addition to cash, the Red Cross paid for Henn to travel to New York, stay at top hotels and spend time in gay guesthouses in Florida. One guesthouse owner was so sympathetic, the Express reported, that he did not charge Henn or the relief agency for a four-night stay.
Henn himself contacted the Express last December in order to complain about the lack of cooperation he was receiving from Empire State Pride. Over the course of the last three months, the Express tracked the details of Henn's story and found nothing to support his claims.
Henn, however, responded: "You don't understand how rare loving relationships are in the gay community. I loved that man. He loved me."
Although Henn insists that Andersen was a rich man who supported him in luxury, the Express reported that Henn "was living alone by the seat of his pants."
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