SHANTELL MOSES, age 37, was sentenced today by U. S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to a term of imprisonment of eighteen (18) months, for one count of mail fraud and one count of identity theft, both committed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition to the term of imprisonment, MOSES was ordered to pay $16,915 in restitution to the American Red Cross.

According to court documents, MOSES fraudulently applied for disaster assistance funds from the American Red Cross on eleven (11) separate occasions between September and October 2005. The Red Cross made disaster assistance funds of up to $1,565 available to those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 on a one-time only basis. According to court documents, MOSES was not a resident of an area affected by the hurricane at the time Katrina made landfall. Because she was not a resident of Louisiana, MOSES obtained a fraudulent Louisiana identification card in the name “Tora Yvette Hodges” with a false residential address in Kenner, Louisiana. According to court documents, Tora Hodges, a Georgia resident whom MOSES knew, never gave MOSES permission or authorization to use her identity for any purpose. This false identification obtained by MOSES was utilized at each and every American Red Cross shelter for the purpose of defrauding the Red Cross into believing that MOSES was a resident of Louisiana. In all, MOSES, fraudulently obtained $16,915 from the American Red Cross.

The case was investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Matt Chester.

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