Ten suspects were from Montgomery

Federal authorities have ar­rested 14 people -- 10 of them from Montgomery -- accused of stealing funds intended for vic­tims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

U.S. Attorney Leura Canary announced Friday that several of the 14 have been detained while awaiting trial, and that some have already pleaded guilty to the charges.

"Each of these 14 defendants are charged with consciously setting out to steal money in­tended for victims of Hurri­canes Katrina and Rita," Ca­nary said in a news release. "Many of them compounded the offense by stealing others' iden­tities to commit the crime. In to­tal, our office has charged 51 de­fendants based upon Katrina and Rita fraud. We are com­mitted to bringing these offend­ers to justice."

The defendants from Mont­gomery:

# Terrance Harris, 21, is charged with stealing more than $13,000 in Federal Emer­gency Management Agency funds intended for Katrina vic­tims. The indictment alleges Harris accepted and cashed at least six checks that he was not entitled to. Arrested April 19, he remains in jail pending his June 23 trial. Harris is considered a flight risk and was not eligible for bond.

# Andrew D'Angelo Garrett, 23, is charged with eight counts of theft of Katrina-designated funds totaling more than $23,400. The indictment alleges Garrett and others filed four FEMA claims alleging residen­tial damages in Harvey and New Orleans, La., even though Gar­rett lived in Montgomery. He re­mains on bond pending his June 23 trial.

# Tammy Holloway, 39, is charged with two counts of theft and one count of aggravated identity theft for filing two claims for Katrina disaster as­sistance. The indictment alleges Holloway used false identities to forge applications to FEMA that led to her receipt of $4,000 in U.S. Treasury checks. Her trial is set for Aug. 18.

# Thelma Elaine Foster, 42, and Isaphene Foster Riley, 57, are charged with theft and ag­gravated identity theft by filing an application for Katrina as­sistance in Riley's name with a false Social Security number. The indictment alleges they cashed a $2,000 check from FEMA, knowing they were not entitled to the money.

# Paul Graham, 27, pleaded guilty May 1 to improperly re­ceiving and cashing checks from FEMA in excess of $8,000. Graham admitted that he al­lowed others to file fraudulent claims on his behalf in his name, and that he then cashed the disaster assistance checks that were made out to him. Gra­ham also pleaded guilty to non-FEMA-related narcotics and drug charges. He remains in fed­eral custody pending sentenc­ing July 22, when he faces up to 40 years in prison for the FEMA charges alone.

# Michael Hood, 23, pleaded guilty April 28 to one count of theft of government property or money. Hood admitted to cash­ing a $2,000 check intended for Katrina victims. He faces up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced Aug. 7.

# Dan Lee Johnson, 61, Della May Jones, 36, and Mack Mur­rell, 67, pleaded guilty to one count each of theft of govern­ment property. Each admitted to cashing a $2,000 FEMA check in the aftermath of Katrina, knowing they were not entitled to the money. Sentencing for Jones and Murrell is scheduled for Friday. Johnson's sentenc­ing is scheduled for July 11. Each faces up to 10 years in pris­on.

According to statistics kept by the Department of Justice's Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, the U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Alaba­ma has charged the highest number of defendants in Alaba­ma with Katrina fraud. Nation­wide, the office is seventh in the number of total indictments. The Middle District also has ob­tained the longest sentence for Hurricane Katrina or Rita fraud.

Anyone with information concerning possible fraud being committed during the post-Ka­trina recovery effort is urged to call the Inspector General Fraud Hotline toll-free at 866-720-5721.


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