
A Florida man who collected nearly $40,000 over the Web for Hurricane Katrina humanitarian relief was indicted on fraud charges Monday. According to the indictment, Florida resident Gary Kraser allegedly used email and the Web site AirKatrina.com to dupe nearly 50 people out of their money over a two-day period. He claimed to be flying medical supplies to Louisiana and helping to evacuate children and sick people in his plane, the indictment said. Kraser is the first person that the United States has charged with Internet fraud linked to Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Internet security experts have warned of numerous online scams designed to exploit charitable giving in the aftermath of the catastrophe.