Former Crack Dealer Sent Back to Federal Prison for Derecho Fraud

A former crack dealer who received approximately $1,900 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) benefits after falsely claiming to have suffered damage in the 2020 derecho storm in Cedar Rapids was sentenced on November 1, 2023, to 90 days in federal prison.

Melvin McKinney, age 41, from Cedar Rapids, received the prison term after a June 15, 2023, guilty plea to one count of theft of government funds.  In a plea agreement, and at the sentencing hearing, McKinney admitted that he stole $1,902.62 in FEMA benefits, specifically personal property and rental assistance.  McKinney spent the stolen funds at gas stations, restaurants, and Victoria’s Secret.

In August 2020, the derecho swept through the Northern District of Iowa.  The derecho caused an estimated $7.5 billion in damage within the State of Iowa and other affected states.  The Northern District of Iowa, including the City of Cedar Rapids, was particularly hard-hit from the derecho, with estimated 100‑130 mph straight-line winds.

FEMA declared Disaster No. 4557 for the State of Iowa on August 17, 2020.  Derecho victims could apply to FEMA for disaster relief assistance to help meet repair and replacement expenses not otherwise covered by private insurance.

In September 2020, McKinney received the FEMA funds after a false and fraudulent application for derecho benefits was filed in his name.  Specifically, the application falsely stated that (1) McKinney was living in an apartment in Cedar Rapids at the time of the derecho, and (2) McKinney suffered both home and personal property damage from the derecho.  In conjunction with the application, McKinney provided FEMA with the name of a fictitious landlord, “Willie Davis,” and McKinney pretended to be the same individual when FEMA attempted to verify that McKinney was entitled to derecho benefits.  McKinney also lied to a FEMA investigator on the telephone, falsely stating that (1) his apartment building had lost almost half of its shingles, (2) the building’s central air conditioning units were blown over and damaged, (3) the windows to his apartment were blown out, (4) there was drywall and ceiling damage in his apartment, and (5) McKinney’s personal furnishings were damaged.  All of these representations and statements were false: McKinney was not even a tenant of the apartment building, which suffered no significant damage in the derecho.  When confronted by law enforcement agents, McKinney initialed lied about the theft but eventually confessed.          

McKinney has a serious criminal history.  In 2006, McKinney was convicted of multiple crack cocaine conspiracy and distribution charges in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment.  In 2015, after his release from federal prison, McKinney was convicted of domestic abuse.

McKinney was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  McKinney was sentenced to 90 days’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $1,902.62 in restitution to FEMA.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

McKinney was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on December 4, 2023, at 10 a.m.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-CR-38-CJW-MAR.

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