Fraudsters prosecuted in Hurricane Katrina's wake

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

File image.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Oct 2, 2008
The US Justice Department has charged 907 people with cheating the federal government out of relief funds or other assistance following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, officials announced Thursday.

After the Katrina catastrophe, authorities created a special unit to investigate the kinds of crimes and abuses that tend to follow natural disasters. It remained on the job after hurricanes Rita, Wilma and more recently Gustav and Ike.

The fraud unit has received 26,000 complaints of which 17,000 were investigated.

"Throughout the past year, US Attorneys' offices across the country have prosecuted numerous hurricane-related cases that involved a wide range of crimes including emergency-benefit fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and public corruption," the unit said in a statement.

Among the offenders were a pair of brothers from Texas who were sentenced to eight- and nine-year prison terms for setting up an Internet site pretending to raise aid money.

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Outside View: Ike shows reform has worked

Washington (UPI) Sep 29, 2008
While the final cost of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike may not be known for weeks or even months, one thing is clear today: The federal government has learned some of the harsh lessons taught by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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