FEMA Fraud - montgomery t sentencing

SENTENCING IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, ON DISASTER RELIEF FRAUD CHARGE

BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney David R. Dugas announced that another Louisiana resident was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Frank J. Polozola yesterday on a fraud charge related to a hurricane disaster relief program.

TERRY D. MONTGOMERY, age 25, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty on July 23, 2008, to Count Two of an indictment charging illegal conversion of government property in connection with his fraudulent receipt of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief benefits after Hurricane Katrina. MONTGOMERY was sentenced yesterday to a term of imprisonment of twelve months, followed by three years of supervised release. MONTGOMERY was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation of this case with assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

The number of individuals who have been charged in the Middle District of Louisiana with violations related to hurricane disaster relief funds stands at one hundred seventy-five.

In September 2005, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created the 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 the Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division – includes the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and others.

For further information, contact David R. Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, or Lyman Thornton, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, at (225) 389-0443. Anyone suspecting criminal activity involving disaster assistance programs can make an anonymous report by calling the toll-free Disaster Fraud Hotline, 1-866-720-5721, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice. Information can also be emailed to the National Center for Disaster Fraud at disaster@leo.gov or sent by surface mail, with as many details as possible, to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.