The Fraud After the Storm

Hurricane Ike made landfall in September 2008, causing widespread damage across the coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. At that time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offered financial disaster benefits to those who were displaced by the hurricane in multiple counties located throughout Texas. (Take note that disaster benefits were not offered for the State of Georgia.) An article published in the Gwinnett Daily Post states that a Georgia resident and two co-conspirators from Pennsylvania filed for disaster benefits, claiming they were residents of Galveston, Texas during Hurricane Ike.

The story states that the three fraudsters worked together to submit applications for disaster relief benefits in 2008 and 2009, claiming that their personal property had been damaged by the storm. In reality, the co-conspirators all lived in Georgia during that time. Together, they received $50,000 in disaster assistance for their fraudulent claims.

The 45-year-old Georgia woman pleaded guilty to theft of government money. The 57-year-old man and 49-year-old woman, who were former residents of Georgia, also pleaded guilty to theft of government money.

This case was investigated by the Disaster Fraud Task Force, which was established in 2005 to deter, detect and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes including charity fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and insurance fraud related to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. As multiple disasters followed in subsequent years, the Task Force expanded its mission to include all types of disaster fraud.

Congratulations to the investigators who tracked down these three and prosecuted them for their crime. These criminals will no longer be allowed to collect money that they do not deserve at the expense of those who do.

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Category: Disaster Fraud, Fraud of the Day