To some scammers, 9/11 means easy money (original image via Amazin' Jane's flickr).

Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a man who stole thousands from the September 11th Families' Association has been sent to jail for nine months. At the same time, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is warning folks to be super careful about giving donations to the many questionable 9/11 charities out there.

But first the thief: Earlier this summer 45-year-old Claudio Tavarez pleaded guilty to grand larceny. According to prosectors, the heartless crook stole $17,570 by writing 15 checks to himself. To cover his tracks he logged them as payments to vendors and even forged senior official's names on the checks. Since being caught, Tavarez has paid back the money he took from the association, which runs the visitors' center at ground zero and advocates for 9/11 families. According to reports he was silent at his sentencing today, staring into space and finally breaking "into a smile as Manhattan Supreme Court officers snapped the cuffs on him and led him away."

The really sad part of this story is that of the charities out there, the September 11th Families' Association is one of the good guys. Sadly there are a lot of people out there, like Tavarez, looking to make a buck off a still sore national tragedy. Hence Schneiderman's warnings today to make sure you know the charity you are giving to and that it is an established charity, as well as to make sure you know how your donation will be used. Other useful things to keep in mind when giving money? Avoid unsolicited e-mails, be careful when donating via text and social media that your money is going to the right place, report suspicious organizations to the Attorney General's Charities Bureau and please, don't give cash. In fact, if it is in any way possible, pay with a check made payable directly to the charity.