Gulfport Man Pleads Guilty To Oil Spill Fraud

Gulfport, Miss. – Brian K. Lee, 40, of Gulfport, pled guilty on June 24, 2014 to one count of mail fraud in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced.

Lee submitted a fraudulent claim to BP’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility for lost earnings and profits which he claimed he incurred as a result of the oil spill for his loss of employment as a customer service representative at Gulf South Seafood in Biloxi and Long Beach, Mississippi. An investigation revealed that the documents and claims submitted by Brian Lee were fraudulent, the named businesses did not exist, and Lee never worked at any such company. As a result of Lee’s fraudulent scheme, a check was mailed to him in the amount of $23,541.88.

Lee will be sentenced on Thursday, October 2, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones. It was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, emailing at disaster@leo.gov or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.