Press Releases
TWO MISSISSIPPIANS SENTENCED FOR KATRINA FRAUD
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TWO MISSISSIPPIANS SENTENCED FOR KATRINA FRAUD
GULFPORT, Miss - Duane Adams and Emily Fuqua, both of Moss Point, Mississippi, were sentenced for submitting a false claim to FEMA for disaster assistance funds, U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton announced today.
Adams was sentenced to serve twelve months and one day in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay restitution to FEMA in the amount of $25,562, and to perform 70 hours of community service.
Fuqua was sentenced to five years probation. She was also ordered to pay restitution to FEMA in the amount of $21,052, and to perform 70 hours of community service.
Adams and Fuqua pled guilty in January to submitting a false claim to FEMA for disaster assistance funds, claiming a destroyed houseboat in Moss Point, Mississippi, as Adams’ primary residence.
In September, 2005, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created the national Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, designed to deter, investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes such as charity fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and insurance fraud. The Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force - chaired by Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Alice S. Fisher, includes members from the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Postal Inspector’s Office and the Executive Office of United States Attorneys, among others.
Pursuant to the Justice Department initiative, a local Katrina Fraud Task Force, consisting of over 20 Federal and State law enforcement agencies, was formed in the Southern District of
Mississippi to pursue and prosecute individuals who engage in fraud associated with the hurricanes.
If anyone has information concerning possible fraud being committed during the post-Katrina recovery effort, please call either the DHS-OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or the FBI Fraud Hotline at 1-800-225-5324.
