GULFPORT WOMAN FOUND GUILTY OF KATRINA FRAUD

GULFPORT, Miss -  Rose M. Crosby, of Gulfport, Mississippi was found guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday of five counts of fraud against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton announced today. Crosby was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal immediately after the verdict.
           
Crosby was found guilty of making a false statement to FEMA for Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance funds, filing a false claim with FEMA, theft of government funds by fraudulently obtaining FEMA assistance, and two counts of mail fraud.  According to the indictment, Crosby received $4,358.00 from FEMA by utilizing an address where she no longer lived, and claiming hurricane damage at that address.  At the time Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Crosby was living with friends in Biloxi, Mississippi, and sustained no damages. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Scott Gilbert and Annette Williams were the prosecutors in this case.   Crosby is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola on June 4, 2007.  The maximum sentence is 20 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.

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