JOHN T. FLOYD LAW FIRM
Houston Criminal
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DEFENSE LAWYER
TRIALS, SENTENCINGS, AND APPEALS
FEDERAL AND STATE CRIMINAL DEFENSE
Phone (713) 224-0101
E-mail jfloyd@JohnTFloyd.com
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Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts in Houston, Texas
June 18, 2007
TWO YEAR SENTENCE IN FEMA FRAUD CASE
Brings to 17 the number of individuals sentenced to prison in the
Southern District for Hurricane Katrina and Rita fraud
(HOUSTON, TX) - Bryan Brooks, 29, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for filing a false claim with FEMA for Hurricane Rita disaster assistance, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.
United States District Judge Sam Kent handed down the prison term at a hearing in Galveston federal court on Thursday, June 14, 2007. Brooks, who was already in federal custody, was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution to FEMA and to serve a three year term of supervised release on completion of his prison term.
Brook was convicted of filing a claim with FEMA on October 20, 2005, which claimed that Hurricane Rita damaged the home at 1808 Thompson Street in LaMarque, Texas, claimed by Brooks as his primary residence. FEMA sent Brooks $2,000 in expedited assistance in response to the claim. In fact, Brooks had never resided at that address in LaMarque, the house had been vacant since prior to Hurricane Rita, and, according to the owner of the property, Hurricane Rita did not damage the home.
Forty-nine individuals have been charged in the Southern District with fraud relating to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Of the twenty-seven defendants sentenced thus far in these cases, seventeen have been sentenced to prison terms.
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