14 Charged in Katrina Scam
Fourteen Los Angeles residents who authorities say claimed bogus losses in Hurricane Katrina have been charged with bilking the government out of thousands of dollars in disaster aid, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Twelve defendants applied for and received up to $2,000 each after claiming on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website that they lived on a block in Abita Springs, La., that was destroyed by the hurricane, said city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan.
The street exists, but the addresses were made up, Mateljan said.
Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security determined the dozen people who used the fictional addresses were Los Angeles residents, all of whom had links to one another.
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