FEMA Wants $4.7M Back From Katrina Victims

[E40FDNYL35]

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Thousands of Gulf Coast residents have been told they must repay millions of dollars in federal Hurricane Katrina benefits that were excessive or, in some cases, fraudulent. In Mississippi alone, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is seeking $4.7 million from 2,044 people, telling them in a form letter that they have four months to repay or set up a payment plan. Some storm victims got duplicate or extra benefits because of FEMA errors, FEMA spokesman Eugene Brezany said, and others might have received benefits for expenses that later were reimbursed by insurance settlements. Some others benefited "by intentional misrepresentation" or the mistaken belief that secondary residences qualified for payments, he said. More people could get repayment notices as more applications are reviewed, Brezany said. Recipients could have received $2,000 to $26,200. People who get the form letter have 30 days to respond. If they don't meet the four-month deadline, the U.S. Treasury will attempt to collect the money, Brezany said. James McIntyre, FEMA spokesman for Louisiana, could not immediately provide figures for his state or others hit by Katrina. Aaron Walker, the agency's chief spokesman, said in an e-mail he also could not immediately respond. The form letter sent to the aid recipients said that they could appeal the charges. Even so, it said, "FEMA strongly encourages" them to pay the debt or set up a repayment plan to avoid being charged penalties or interest in case the appeal fails. Hurricanes Explained Federal auditors have faulted FEMA for much of the benefit abuse after last fall's hurricanes, citing an inadequate accounting system. The federal Government Accountability Office has said thousands of inappropriate payments were made because people could repeatedly apply for and collect benefits. In February, audits by the General Accounting Office and the Department of Homeland Security found that as many as 900,000 of the 2.5 million applicants who received aid under FEMA's emergency cash assistance program - which included $2,000 debit cards given to evacuees - were based on duplicate or invalid Social Security numbers, or false addresses and names. Also in February, the Justice Department said federal prosecutors charged 212 people with fraud, theft and other counts in scams related to Gulf Coast hurricanes.

[PumpOperator]

I cant stop laughing..FEMA thinks people have money to pay them back!

[jrengine70]

uhhhhhhh DUH the reason they got the money in the first place was because they DIDNT HAVE ANY!
(we better get the money back from the tsunami victims while we're at it)
our polititians(sp?) are crazy

[crash70]

uhhhhhhh DUH the reason they got the money in the first place was because they DIDNT HAVE ANY!
(we better get the money back from the tsunami victims while we're at it)
our polititians(sp?) are crazy

LMAO!

I couldn't agree more. While there are some serious problems with the way FEMA is being run, I can't help but wonder if the re-organization of the Agency has contributed to its blunders. Now, our leadership wants to separate FEMA from DHS. WTF!

See todays op-ed in the Washington Post by Congressman Reichert from Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...051400819.html

[ChiefReason]

Anyone lining up yet to give back the money?
God; my side hurts from laughing so much.
CR

[mylt1z28]

the people at FEMA have lost there minds. but i do believe FEMA needs to be on its own. why does it need to be under homeland security? things did run a little(and i do mean little) better when it was by itself.