Fraudsters prosecuted in Hurricane Katrina's wake

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

File image.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Oct 2, 2008
The US Justice Department has charged 907 people with cheating the federal government out of relief funds or other assistance following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, officials announced Thursday.

After the Katrina catastrophe, authorities created a special unit to investigate the kinds of crimes and abuses that tend to follow natural disasters. It remained on the job after hurricanes Rita, Wilma and more recently Gustav and Ike.

The fraud unit has received 26,000 complaints of which 17,000 were investigated.

"Throughout the past year, US Attorneys' offices across the country have prosecuted numerous hurricane-related cases that involved a wide range of crimes including emergency-benefit fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and public corruption," the unit said in a statement.

Among the offenders were a pair of brothers from Texas who were sentenced to eight- and nine-year prison terms for setting up an Internet site pretending to raise aid money.

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Outside View: Ike shows reform has worked

Washington (UPI) Sep 29, 2008
While the final cost of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike may not be known for weeks or even months, one thing is clear today: The federal government has learned some of the harsh lessons taught by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

ROCKET SCIENCE NASA And Air Force Work To Establish Hypersonic Science Centers Iran To Conduct First Satellite Launch Soon Outside View: Reusable rocket breakthrough Grant For Eco-Friendly Rocket Engine	LAUNCH PAD Chandrayaan-I Moved To Sriharikota For Launch GOCE Team Gearing Up For New Launch Date Russia Launches Thai Satellite On Converted Missile Sea Launch Successfully Delivers Galaxy 19 To Orbit
SHUTTLE NEWS Trouble on Hubble telescope delays space shuttle launch: NASA Astronauts Prepare For Countdown Rehearsal Shuttle Astronauts Begin Prelaunch Training Milestone Endeavour's move to launch pad set	STATION NEWS Boeing Receives ISS Contract Extension Europe's "space truck" heads for Pacific breakup Russia's Space Agency Confirms 18th ISS Expedition The US Has No Option But To Use Russia's Soyuz Craft
SPACE TRAVEL Magnetic Hunger Could Drive Space Travelers Insane Astronaut vs. Earthlings chess game begins Successful Re-Entry Marks Bright Future For ATV NASA marks 50th birthday, looks to new frontiers	DRAGON SPACE Emergency Rescue Vessels For Shenzhou-7 Spaceship Return China hails spacewalk 'heroes' and sets eyes on moon Good Grades For Shenzhou 7 Beijing Control Center Achieves Real Time Control Of Multiple Space Missions
ROBO SPACE iRobot Awarded US Army Contract For Robotic Systems Robots Learn To Follow Robot-assisted surgery repairs fistulas Japanese Researchers Eye e-Skin For Robots	MARSDAILY Nicaraguan Volcano Provides Insight Into Early Mars Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow, Soil Data Suggest Liquid Past Opportunity Slipping Like A Dune Buggy Mars Rover To Head Toward Bigger Crater

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement