Jackson, MS—Robert G. Rader, of Waveland, Miss., was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 45 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to repay $36,127.61 to FEMA, Acting U.S. Attorney Stan Harris announced. Rader pled guilty on January 14, 2009, to conspiracy to defraud FEMA for Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance funds and to mail fraud. Rader’s co-conspirator, Sarah J. Diab, had previously pled guilty to stealing federal disaster benefit funds and was sentenced May 27, 2008 to ten months confinement, supervised release for three years and ordered to make restitution to FEMA.

In September, 2005, former 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 Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Rita M. Glavin, 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.