I'll let the story speak for itself. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/14/fema.audit/index.html FEMA hurricane cards bought jewelry, erotica Federal audit finds $1 billion in potential fraud Wednesday, June 14, 2006; Posted: 4:30 p.m. EDT (20:30 GMT) In this FEMA-supplied photo, a person holds one of the debit cards distributed after Hurricane Katrina. RELATED Gallery: FEMA and fraud • GAO report on FEMA (PDF) • Brown: Bush glad FEMA took flak • Senators: Dump 'bumbling' FEMA SPECIAL REPORT • Rebuilding: Vital signs • Gallery: Landmarks over time • People: Evacuees across nation • Storm & Flood: Making history • Your Stories: How to rebuild • Special ReportYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Accounting and Audits Disaster Relief Department of Homeland Security or Create Your Own Manage Alerts | What Is This? WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters and $300 worth of "Girls Gone Wild" videos were among items bought with debit cards handed out by FEMA to help hurricane victims, auditors probing $1 billion in potential waste and fraud have found. The cards -- given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit. The GAO uncovered records showing that $1,000 from a FEMA debit card went to a Houston divorce lawyer; $600 was spent in a strip club and $400 was spent on "adult erotica products," all of which auditors concluded were "not necessary to satisfy legitimate disaster needs." The GAO found that at least $1 billion in disaster relief payments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were improper and potentially fraudulent because the recipients provided incomplete or incorrect information when they registered for assistance. (GAO report) The GAO said the scope of the problem may be even larger, because it only looked at the validity of registration information and not at other forms of potential fraud. FEMA acknowledged its shortcomings late Tuesday. Spokesman Aaron Walker said FEMA has "revamped the registration process" and has a contract with a company that will verify immediately the identity and address of anyone for assistance. "We are confident in the system we have in place at this point," Walker said. "We are prepared for the upcoming season." The GAO also found that FEMA provided housing assistance to people who were not displaced, including at least 1,000 prison inmates, and also provided rental assistance to people who were simultaneously living in free hotel rooms. Results of the GAO's audit will be presented Wednesday to an investigative panel of the House Homeland Security Committee. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security. The GAO also found that FEMA lost track of 750 debit cards, worth a total of $1.5 million. After inquiries from the GAO, FEMA recovered about half of that money, which had not been distributed by JPMorgan Chase, the bank hired to run the program. But the agency still cannot account for 381 cards, worth about $760,000 total, which JPMorgan Chase says it distributed, according to the GAO. GAO investigators estimated that 16 percent of FEMA's disaster relief payments were made to people who submitted invalid registrations, to the tune of about $1 billion. Because the figures were calculated using a statistical sample, however, the agency said the amount could range from $600 million to as much as $1.4 billion. Among other problems found with the registrations, according to the GAO study: People signed up for assistance using Social Security numbers that didn't exist or belonged to other people. Aid applications contained bogus addresses for damaged property, or gave addresses for damaged property where the applicants did not live when the hurricanes struck. In one case, FEMA paid nearly $2,360 to a man whose allegedly damaged property was in a cemetery. Payments were made to people who listed post office boxes as their damaged residences. People submitted duplicate registrations, which FEMA did not detect. More than 1,000 registrations used the names and Social Security numbers of prison inmates. According to the GAO, in one instance, FEMA paid $20,000 to a Louisiana prisoner who listed a post office box as his damaged property. As part of its audit, the GAO used an undercover registrant who submitted a vacant lot as a damaged address. FEMA paid the registrant $6,000 and even made payments after being notified by one its own inspectors, as well as an inspector for the Small Business Administration, that the damaged property could not be found, the GAO investigators found. The GAO concluded that the potentially fraudulent payments were made because FEMA did not validate registrants' identities and the locations and ownership of purportedly damaged property. While conceding that FEMA acted out of the need to provide assistance quickly, GAO investigators said the agency's own policies required additional verification before continuing payments. The GAO study also found FEMA improperly provided rental assistance to people who were staying in hotels paid for by FEMA because the agency did not require hotels to collect Social Security numbers and FEMA registration information. Without that information, FEMA could not verify if people were staying in hotels when they applied for rental assistance. And because that information doesn't exist, GAO auditors said they could not determine how many people might have double-dipped -- or how much it cost the government.
not sure what is more pathetic ......citizens taking advantage of a horrible situation to financially better themselves, or the government falling for their scams
You mean like the MegaPlexxx? These stats are telling, but I wonder... how many FEMA cards were used to purchase erotic jewelry?
Well, at least the beast known as FEMA is learning how to do its job correctly for the next time. About the only thing their accomplishing here, besides wasting taxpayers' money, is contributing to the overcrowding of our prison systems with all these con artists they are going to prosecute...assuming they do. That whole process is going to cost a lot of taxpayer money as well. There will be no more excuses left if FEMA screws up the next hurricane disaster relief. And, they should be better prepared for responding to any disaster. Otherwise, put em in front of a camera, tell them their "doing a heckuva job!", and then fire them a week later.
This is a good point. For all their faults, one has to at least understand that this is the first time they've really dealt with a disaster of this magnitude. That's going to be the test. I'll give them somewhat of a pass this time because of the aforementioned unprecedentedness (is that a word? it is now. it's called precedent, b****!*), but if we see the same inefficientness the next time, then we have a serious and major problem. *bonus points for those who get that reference
I remember last year when the NO people came here and got their FEMA money. They came to where I had worked and got their eyes checked and what not. One lady had a pretty nice Louis Vuitton purse and I said to her "Wow, that's a pretty nice purse you got there ma'am". She smiled, patted the purse, and said "All thanks to FEMA"
VERY easy question to answer: Citizens taking advantage. The more restrictions you put on a process (which would be necessary to ensure compliance), the more difficult it would be for some of the people who might really need the assistance to get it. All of these things that happened--all of the abuse--it was just a necessary evil to ensure those that needed the help, got it.
I agree, i think overall it was worth it. I mean, you give a couple thousand people $1,000 and say, "Use it for survival, but you can really use it for anything else you want." Survival is subjective, and if I need a lapdance to survive, so be it.
A prime example why you should seriously consider never giving bums money. Give them food, or coupons for food etc.....but money....not a good idea. And, yes, I am guilty of giving them money. The cards should have been restricted in what they could be used for.... DD
perhaps this is a prime example of why a country like this shouldn't so inequitable interms of how it deals with the poor? perhaps we should educate them and give them opportunities instead of casting them in ghettos? perhaps we should actually care about them isntead of calling them bums? perhaps we should address the actual problem at hand instead of using ad hominem bs. do you feel as though you gain credibility on your stance if you brag about what a charitable person you are? absolutely. but that has nothing to do with 'giving bums money'.
