Jail Fraud: Two Inmates Got $2000 FEMA Hurricane Checks, Paper Reports

Posted Thursday, October 6, 2005 12:00 am

By: E&P Staaff Two Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, inmates received $2,000 each from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Hurricane Katrina relief, authorities said Wednesday.

The two unidentified inmates used FEMA's toll-free number to apply for immediate assistance.

Originally from the New Orleans area, they have been jailed in Avoyelles Parish for at least a year, Sheriff's Chief Deputy Maj. Harry Normand told the The Town Talk newspaper in Alexandria, La.

"They did not ride out the hurricane in New Orleans--they were here," Normand said.

The inmates had the money sent to the Avoyelles Correctional Center. The Sheriff's office seized the checks and then contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The inmates were not arrested on any charges in connection with the FEMA checks.

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Jail Fraud: Two Inmates Got $2000 FEMA Hurricane Checks, Paper Reports

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