Death row inmate indicted on attack victim's fund fraud

Friday, January 17th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ An Oklahoma death row inmate has been charged with trying to defraud a compensation fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. attorney said Thursday.

A federal grand jury returned the 4-count indictment Wednesday, charging Tyrone Peter Darks with two counts each of false statements and mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said.

Darks, 38, allegedly applied for between $300,000 and $1 million from the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, claiming his wife disappeared when she visited the World Trade Centers that day, Sperling said.

Darks, who's in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester for killing his ex-wife in 1994, claimed his wife was a wealthy business executive who had earned $4.5 million in each of the last four years, the U.S. attorney said.