Press Releases
OCEAN SPRINGS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SBA AND KATRINA FRAUD
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jackson, Mississippi - United States Attorney Dunn Lampton announced today that
Robert Scott Manley entered a guilty plea for fraudulently obtaining $46,352.00 from the
United States Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Manley, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, pled guilty to submitting a false Borrower’s
Progress Certification to the United States Small Business Administration in order to receive a
$40,000.00 loan. This loan was awarded solely for the purpose of rehabilitating and replacing
property damaged at his house in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Manley admitted lying when he
submitted a document to SBA stating that he had used the first $10,000.00 of the loan to
purchase household products valued at $8,150.00. Manley also admitted he intentionally poured
bottled water onto the floors of his house prior to a FEMA inspector arriving to inspect the
house. During this time, Manley received $6,352.00 in Hurricane Katrina disaster funds from
FEMA. Manley confessed that he used most of the money he received to purchase illegal drugs,
a car and to gamble at casinos.
This case was investigated by the Small Business Administration - Office of Inspector
General and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Jerry Abdalla.
Robert Scott Manley will be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., on
May 28, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000
fine.
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.
