Press Releases
OCEAN SPRINGS MAN ARRESTED FOR KATRINA FRAUD
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JACKSON, Miss. – David M. Sullenberger, of Ocean Springs, was arrested today and appeared in U.S. District Court in Gulfport in response to indictments returned by a federal grand jury alleging false claims and statements to FEMA and the Department of Agriculture for Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance funds, U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton announced.
Sullenberger was charged in a five count indictment with filing a false claim for government benefits, theft of government funds, making false statements to FEMA, mail fraud and food stamp fraud. If convicted on each count, Sullenberger faces a maximum of 45 years imprisonment and up to $1,010,000.00 in fines.
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 Department of Homeland Security, 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
