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92
prior to the hate crime event. Birdsong’s case was determined to be a hoax and he was found guilty of making false reports to authorities.
In 1996, Al Rubin and his son Steven, vandalized the Hillel Community Day School with anti-Semitic slurs. Their goal was to reap the benefits of profiting from their expectation of completing the repair work. They were charged and sentenced to jail time.269
Most criminals can rationalize their behavior by believing that they “deserve” a better lifestyle whether because of race, or upbringing.270 In 1997, an interracial couple, Sandra Benson and her boyfriend Freeman Berry were indicted on twenty three counts of mail fraud and insurance fraud for settling false claims involving car accidents, break-ins, house fires, and household accidents that caused injury. Two claims were settled for more than two hundred thousand dollars each with many other claims settled for less.271 In a five-year period the couple’s scams netted them between six hundred thousand and one million dollars.272
The Federal Bureau of Investigation believed that the couple might have continued scamming for years to come had their current swindle not involved a faked hate crime. The timing coincided with two separate fires at black churches in their area so their allegation was taken very seriously by authorities. Benson and Berry, lived in Jonesboro, Georgia, and claimed their home was burned down and their shed
269 Ibid.
270 Denny F. Pace, Community Relations Concepts (4th Edition), Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont California, 2003.
271 In 1995, Benson applied for and received $397.00 per month in food stamps for more than one year.
272 Chelsea J. Carter, “Feds: Couple Faked Hate Crime, Pair is Indicted in Insurance Scam,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 25, 1997, p. 7.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 98 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 92 prior to the hate crime event. Birdsong’s case was determined to be a hoax and he was found guilty of making false reports to authorities. In 1996, Al Rubin and his son Steven, vandalized the Hillel Community Day School with anti-Semitic slurs. Their goal was to reap the benefits of profiting from their expectation of completing the repair work. They were charged and sentenced to jail time.269 Most criminals can rationalize their behavior by believing that they “deserve” a better lifestyle whether because of race, or upbringing.270 In 1997, an interracial couple, Sandra Benson and her boyfriend Freeman Berry were indicted on twenty three counts of mail fraud and insurance fraud for settling false claims involving car accidents, break-ins, house fires, and household accidents that caused injury. Two claims were settled for more than two hundred thousand dollars each with many other claims settled for less.271 In a five-year period the couple’s scams netted them between six hundred thousand and one million dollars.272 The Federal Bureau of Investigation believed that the couple might have continued scamming for years to come had their current swindle not involved a faked hate crime. The timing coincided with two separate fires at black churches in their area so their allegation was taken very seriously by authorities. Benson and Berry, lived in Jonesboro, Georgia, and claimed their home was burned down and their shed 269 Ibid. 270 Denny F. Pace, Community Relations Concepts (4th Edition), Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont California, 2003. 271 In 1995, Benson applied for and received $397.00 per month in food stamps for more than one year. 272 Chelsea J. Carter, “Feds: Couple Faked Hate Crime, Pair is Indicted in Insurance Scam,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 25, 1997, p. 7. |
