Phony 9-11 Death Claim Nets 2 1/2 Years in Prison Man Collected $68,000, Said Partner was Killed

Fort Lauderdale man apologized for exploiting the World Trade Center tragedy to line his pockets before he was sentenced Wednesday to 2 1/2 years in prison for a crime that American Red Cross officials called reprehensible.

A visibly nervous Patric Ian Henn vowed he would pay back the nonprofit organization for the $68,000 in benefits he received after inventing a domestic partner who, he said, died when the twin towers collapsed. The Red Cross provided Henn, 29, with a hotel room -- and then an apartment -- after the attack and gave him at least $44,000 in checks, including one to help cover funeral expenses of the partner who never existed.

"One lie begot another lie begot another lie," Henn said. "It spiraled out of control. ... I realized I couldn't stop what I set in motion."

Henn never has offered a public explanation of what he did with the money he received. He pleaded guilty last week to a single count of grand theft.

Besides the prison sentence, Broward Circuit Court Judge Marc Gold ordered Henn to serve 12 1/2 years on probation and to pay back the American Red Cross in full.

"In addition to the tens of thousands of dollars he accepted in services and in money, he took away people -- volunteers -- from the real work they were called to," Gold said. "The time they spent on his matters, his concerns and his false claims was wasted."

While the Red Cross' Broward County chapter helped 42 local families affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Henn demanded attention. He repeatedly called the organization screaming for more money, and employees dreaded his frantic appearances at the chapter's office, said Red Cross employee Carmen Almeida-Biggart.

"He was always there," said Almeida-Biggart, who dealt with Henn's various demands as she coped with the death of her brother- in-law in the World Trade Center attack.

Henn said he was on the phone with his domestic partner of four years, Jeff John Anderson, when the attack began, and then he lost the connection, Almeida-Biggart said. Henn told the Red Cross that Anderson, a Canadian citizen, was visiting a World Trade Center brokerage house to iron out family finances.

He filed a missing-persons report with the New York City Police Department two days after the attack and began trying to get death benefits in New York and Broward County. He later sought to get a death certificate for Anderson.

Henn went to the Red Cross as well as a New York gay rights group to get benefits, claiming that he couldn't get access to Anderson's bank account. Almeida-Biggart said Henn claimed that Anderson was independently wealthy and they had been getting ready to buy a house.

Henn's scam began unraveling in February 2002 when an attempt to get The Express, a South Florida gay and lesbian community newspaper, to profile his plight backfired. The then-publisher of The Express, Norman Kent, said he began delving into Henn's background after becoming suspicious that a man who claimed to have been living "a Louis Vuitton lifestyle" with his partner could suddenly be homeless.

Henn disappeared shortly after The Express wrote about holes in his story. Fort Lauderdale police issued an arrest warrant for him in December 2002, and he was arrested six months later in Dallas. He was brought back to Florida only to flee again after he posted a $5,000 bond. Authorities caught up with him in Texas a second time, and he was held without bail at the Broward County Jail.

Henn, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, went out of his way to avoid facing courtroom cameras before his sentencing, turning his back and attempting to cover his face with a folder when he walked into the room.

Assistant State Attorney Mardi L. Cohen asked for Gold to sentence Henn to seven years in prison followed by eight years' probation, saying he systematically defrauded the Red Cross by persistently hounding caseworkers for money.

"The victims are not just the Red Cross, but the donors to the Red Cross as well the victims of 9-11," Cohen said. "The ramifications of someone cheating the Red Cross are great because it could have a chilling effect on people wanting to give money to charities. ... Now they are thinking where is money really going? Are there more people like Patric Henn out there?"

Assistant Public Defender Dorothy Ferraro countered that Henn should only receive 10 years probation, arguing that the judge should treat Henn no differently than any other first-time felony offender convicted of grand theft.

"Everyone wants to turn this into what's American and what's patriotic," Ferraro said. "That's not what the case is about. It's about the theft of money."

Bill Epps, executive director of the Red Cross' Broward County chapter, said Wednesday he was satisfied with Henn's sentence for his "reprehensible and disgraceful" actions.

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 954- 356-4491.