NO FUCKING WAY. FEMA wants money back from Katrina victims

[Sugar Smack]

By RON HARRIST

"JACKSON, Miss. Apr 21, 2006 (AP)— Thousands of Gulf Coast residents have been told they must repay millions of dollars in federal Hurricane Katrina benefits that were excessive or, in some cases, fraudulent.

In Mississippi alone, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is seeking $4.7 million from 2,044 people, giving them 30 days to repay or set up a payment plan.

Some storm victims got duplicate or extra benefits because of FEMA errors, agency spokesman Eugene Brezany said, and others might have received benefits for expenses that later were reimbursed by insurance settlements."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1873369&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

You FUCKERS. If giving extra money to desperate people was YOUR fucking mistake, you assholes, DEAL with it yourself. What the fuck do you think's going to happen now? FUCK YOU. Fuck the US GOVT for this. I spit on you from a considerable height.

:grr: :nuke:

[drdtroit]

1. Here's the correct link

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1873369&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[Sugar Smack]

4. THANK YOU. I'm sorry, too steamed to see straight.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. Can you believe that?

Buried deep within the front section of the fucking Washington Post.

It never ends, does it?

[Sugar Smack]

12. Apparently not. This is just embarrassing.

[wake.up.america]

3. How about getting money back from the cruise lines, and others who ...

overcharged?

They are doing this, knowing the victims of Katrina and FEMA would never vote Republican, anyway.

[Sugar Smack]

7. It's not fucking ending.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: This administration makes me so SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[madrchsod]

5. maybe they should worry about getting

some of the pallets of mail i saw while visting a warehouse the other day. but i suppose many of those mailings no longer have a box to be put in.

[Sugar Smack]

17. Unbelieveable. Of all the nerve.

Of all the insidious nerve in the universe.

[no name no slogan]

6. Mkay. That's just BULLSHIT

Maybe they should go after the people of Afghanistan, too.

This adminsitration is on crack. No doubt.f

[Sugar Smack]

9. There are no words.

No words.

[libodem]

8. what? did I read this wrong?

this is fucking nuts. This seems to be the worst news day ever.

[Sugar Smack]

11. "because of FEMA errors"

this IS fucking nuts. I can't fucking believe it.I thought I was reading it wrong, too.

[bluerum]

10. Whatever became of the millions given to Florida residents for

hurricane relief by FEMA? (Later to find out that they were not hurricane victims but FL residents with their hands out.)

Was that money ever returned or re-reclaimed by FEMA or did FEMA legitimize it somehow?

[converted_democrat]

29. This isn't the first time they've f'ed up..They over paid real FL victims,

and it was the fault of FEMA, not the victims.. The victims did not now how much money they were supposed to get in the first place, so how could they be expected to know that they had gotten too much? We know several people that had to sell their homes before it was all over with to get the money situation straightened out.. Sad situation..

"(Later to find out that they were not hurricane victims but FL residents with their hands out.)"

That was the lower west side of FL, and the head of FEMA just handed out money because it was right before an election, and they wanted Jeb to look good.. I don't know whatever came of that, but I know that they screwed real hurricane victims in our area.. * can't seem to appoint anyone competant..

[progressivebydesign]

13. FEMA overpaid and many people defrauded FEMA.

I have no issue with them taking back our money when it turns out many people used fraudulent information to get the money, not to mention those that actually got FEMA money on vacation homes, as well. It's my money and your money that they paid out in their "mistakes" as some of you call them.. in many cases it was absolute fraud.

[Sugar Smack]

16. Let's talk about scale then. Desperate people with NOTHING

and I mean NOTHING to their names with nowhere to turn, versus our government ripping off people on a global scale daily. I think this situation calls for a little perspicacity.

[merh]

19. Absolute Fraud

How about thousands of travel trailers sitting in a lot in Arkansas falling apart and not being used.

Fucking Fraud, how about Cheney using the Hurricane Tax initiative to claim charitable contributions to the tune of $7 Million, said contributions NOT going to hurricane charities?

Fucking Fraud, how about insurance corporations making a profit last year despite the fact that they have denied thousands of home owner claims along the Gulf Coast, thus the need for folks like me to turn to FEMA!

Fucking Fraud, did you know that the MS AG is investigating the insurance corporations for falsifying documents related to the cause of storm damage?

Get some perspective - the fraud is not in the little bitty folks, it is deep in our government that has been in bed with the corporations for years.

I don't think it is right that anyone took more FEMA money than they were entitled to, I think on the grand scale of things, it's like charging a kid for stealing a candy bar when the manager is short changing the store's count and isn't investigated, let alone charged. We lost money cause the kid shoplifted :sarcasm:

.

[Sugar Smack]

26. NO SHIT. Add to that the kid's fucking STARVING

and needs something the corporation can easily give up.

[bluerum]

31. If the store (FEMA) was run properly, there would be less waste and

it would be less likely that people would be able to perpetrate fraud.

[merh]

33. So true.

And the same can be said of our entire government. Doesn't it just frighten you when you think of the waste and the fraud that is occuring because the fox is not only in the hen house, the fox rules the hen house.

:argh:

[Sugar Smack]

42. This gives new meaning to "A day late & a dollar short."

[moc]

44. I know some people here in NTx who purposely defrauded FEMA.

This was NOT a case of FEMA making mistakes, or desparate people getting more than their fair share in a chaotic situation. This is about people who had lived in NTx for 6+ months before Katrina hit who still happened to have a LA driver's license who decided to get a piece of the action themselves.

There's more to this story, but I hope these people get what's coming to them. They're the lowest of the low, in my opinion.

[merh]

14. Wonder if I should expect such a letter?

:cry:

I've been saying since Day 1 that FEMA's lack of organization and double efforts (double billing) by contractors and sub-contractors was costing the taxpayers a fortune, at the expense of those truly in need. Well, here ya go -- make the survivors make up the difference and pay for their incompetence.

Why not Bechtel, why not Haliburton, why not .... Too many to fucking name, too many that have made profits while we scrap by. :cry:


Edited to add: They can come check me out, I still got nothing. :shrug:

[Sugar Smack]

15. Exactly.

Sweetie, I will do everything I can to help you. This is insane. Absolutely insane. Please PM me if you need help or if you don't. OK? I'm here.

:hug:

[merh]

21. Got to keep the faith, sweetie.

It will be okay, it just has to be. :hug:

Thanks for the support and for the outrage. That you get "it" means a great deal.

Some folks never will. :cry:

:loveya:

[HeeBGBz]

41. They're just gonna have to stand in line to get blood from this turnip

I filed for FEMA because I thought everyone who was in the disaster zone was supposed to. I didn't ask for money but they sent me some. I have no idea what the criteria is on the entitlements. I didn't lose a home, but I did have to relocate.

[TahitiNut]

18. Get the money back from the victims so the profiteers can have it.

After all, Princess Cruise Lines, cheap trailer manufacturers, and trailer haulers (at $5/mile?) are far more deserving, even though they benefited almost none of the victims. The Bushoilini Regime knows that Katrina was merely a good excuse to shovel money out for their corporatists cronies - who cares about whether they actually helped anyone?

[merh]

25. Shhh, don't talk too loudly

or the deal CSX R&R is working on might fall through and they won't get the feds and the state of MS to buy out their R&R line and help them move it north, like they should have done years ago because it is such a danger to motorists in the populated areas and the slow speed required along those areas costs them in time and profits.

Don't mention cronism and corporate profits and no one will notice the real fraud. :sarcasm:

[dogday]

20. Take it from them to give to the rich for tax cut

the lousy bastards :mad:

[DS1]

22. If they're going after the people who filed fraudulent claims

I'm all for it. If they overpaid as a mistake, then merry christmas to those people. You can't overlook the fact that hundreds of scam artists from states all over the country filed grievances, and got all sorts of bennies they had no business getting.

[elehhhhna]

24. no joke. they might also reopen those snow-damage claims

they paid in Miami FL in 2003/4

[fishnfla]

23. Thats strange, everyone was all for it, when they did it in Fla.

People on this board were all blaming JEB for the double dipping. IIRC, people were coming up with all sorts of bogus claims.

My feeling is when people defraud insurance companies or the gov't we all pay more

[merh]

27. How about when the corporations and the government

agencies defraud?

Where is the outrage and the demand for the accounting?

[fishnfla]

28. Absolutley, fraud is fraud is fraud

and most people, given the opportunity, will cheat and lie and steal. Especially if they think they can get away with it, or if it is from the government.

I think its funny, some of these people that are defrauding FEMA are very likely "personality responsiblity" advocates, or blast "welfare cheats", or are all about "limited government" Miss is a red state after all.

But given a chance, they will want to carve out whatever piece of pie is available,and more, whether they deserve it or not.

To be fair, since the chimp put FEMA under Homeland security, the thing is so hugely unorganized it is wide open for this type of abuse.

I remember after charlie and frances, the local FEMA office, which I drove by each day, was open for a year with a line around the block. I think it closed a year to the day Charlie hit

[Sugar Smack]

30. do you think that ANYBODY

who is desperate will not grab as much as they can in an effort to pave their way? Knowing this government, do you think anyone who was without would exclaim that they'd been given too much?

[walldude]

32. A whole 4.7 million huh...

Gee we're missing, what, 8 BILLION dollars of Iraqi reconstruction money? I don't see anybody trying to get that back. Hell I don't see anybody even trying to find out WHAT HAPPENED TO IT! :grr:

[Sugar Smack]

36. The administration is REALLY on the ball NOW, isn't it?

I mean, letting 5 days go by before sending any help, hurriedly coming up with a payment plan after refusing to send money, and now picking through 2400 people to get their money back. Oh yeah, then the media spin on it. Heck of a job.

[guidod]

34. Haven't those peole been through enough?

Give me a break!

"I spit on you from a considerrable height" LOL, thank you, I've never heard that one. :rofl: :rofl:

[Sugar Smack]

38. Thank you!

LOL- This brings out the "Bush-Triggered tourette's" we're fond of talking about in this forum! :D

[Robbie Michaels]

35. I Have An Idea

Maybe they should get their money back for all of those unused moblie homes? :grr:

[laruemtt]

37. and as a taxpayer

i'd like the $9 billion that the pentagon "lost" back. and while we're at it, every penny of overpayment and waste (which would be every penny) that's gone to halliburton.

[ananda]

39. Bremer and Hallliburton..

.. when are you going to give back that conveniently lost $4b
that has disappeared into the mercenary hellhole called Iraq?

[Daphne08]

40. These idiots can't stop shooting themselves in the foot! n/t

[atfqn]

43. What are you so pissed about?

They got extra money. A mistake was made while they were trying to aid EVERYONE and some people got more. Plain and simple - pay it back. Though I donated, it doesn't mean we OWE these people because they live below sea level and a storm came. Your argument about "You" (FEMA) this and "You" that is really inane, who do you think pays for this?

[Texasgal]

45. Do you understand that people

That are trying to rebuild are having to use their OWN recourses to get their lives back?

I know someone PERSONALLY that lost his home to Rita, he is married with 4 kids. They all had to move in a hotel for EIGHT MONTHS. FEMA only paid for 6 WEEKS. They had to spend ALL of their savings on re-building their home, they lost EVERYTHING right down to the toot brushes in the bathroom.

Insurance and FEMA don't cover it ALL... these folks had to pay out over 10,000.00 of their OWN money to get their lives back in order... and now FEMA wants their money back? FUCK THEM! If they can't run the fucking agency right they need to accept the loss! PERIOD!

Oh and a little info, they live in Beaumont... not an unsafe haven!