2 Charged With Filing False Claims To Get Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse Money
By the
CNN Wire Staff
updated 2:13 AM EST, Wed December 28, 2011
Seven people were killed when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair on August 13.
Stephanie Murry
Sandra Hurn
(CNN) -- Authorities in Indiana have charged two women who are accused of falsifying hospital records to collect money intended for victims of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse.
Both women claimed they were injured when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair in August, killing seven and wounding 61, authorities said.
"It is particularly troubling that individuals would attempt to illegally profit upon a tragedy such as the State Fair stage collapse," said Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry. "We will not stand idly by while greedy individuals take from those who are truly deserving of compensation from this tragedy."
According to prosecutors, Stephanie Murry and Sandra Hurn filed false claims to the Indiana State Fair Remembrance Fund (ISFRF), which is funded solely by private donations.
Hurn collected a $7,500 check from the remembrance fund, but the fund denied Murry's claims, authorities said. The women also filed clams to the Indiana Tort Claim Fund, administered by the Indiana Attorney General's Office, and were notified they would receive money, officials said.
Police arrested Hurn when she went to pick up a claim check. Murry was arrested shortly afterward.
Authorities have charged both women with forgery, perjury and attempted theft -- all felonies.
In the August 13 incident, metal scaffolding supporting the stage lights fell on dozens of fans as a storm swept through the Indiana State Fair right before country duo Sugarland was to take the stage.
The National Weather Service estimated winds of 60 mph to 70 mph were raking the area when the incident occurred.
Last month, the families of four people killed in the incident filed a suit against the band.