Millions Wasted on Hurricane Relief

Nearly a quarter of all government aid distributed in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita went to people who had no right to receive it. That`s the bottom line of a new report set to be released on Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office. The "New York Times" says the report concludes that as much as one-point-four-billion-dollars in disaster aid was doled out as a result of fraudulent claims. The abuse of the system ranged from undeserving claimants receiving emergency aid to pay for football tickets, "Girls Gone Wild" videos, a $200 bottle of Dom Perignon, and even an all-inclusive weeklong vacations to the Caribbean. In one case, a man was getting nearly $2,400 in government rent assistance, even though he had not been living in the property he claimed was damaged by the hurricane. He also received funds to stay at a hotel in Hawaii that cost over $100 a night for two months. Millions of dollars were wasted on people who listed cemeteries or post office boxes as the addresses of their damaged properties. Millions more went to over 1,000 prison inmates; one inmate used a post office box to collect $20,000. Republican Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Investigations, calls the scale of abuse, quote, "shocking and appalling." So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has referred roughly 1,500 of suspected fraud for possible prosecution. Meanwhile, it has collected less than $17 million from people who were overcompensated or who are believed to have obtained it through fraudulent means. As a result, Congressman McCaul has warned that he may recommend legislation designed to mandate tougher accounting practices if the agency can not prove that it is taking adequate steps to resolve the problem.