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New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Defraud BP Oil Spill Relief Fund
A New Orleans woman was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for her role in a massive conspiracy to defraud the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) in the aftermath of the devastating BP oil spill.
Rachell Thomas, 37, was found to have worked with 22 co-conspirators to create false claim forms, which they submitted to the GCCF in an attempt to swindle a total of $188,500.
According to court documents, Thomas and her co-conspirators claimed to work for seafood restaurants and suffered financially due to lost employment as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident.
In support of these fraudulent claims, Thomas created false earnings statements and letters from fictitious restaurants and faxed them to the GCCF between September and October 2010.
Thomas was able to obtain $8,000 as a result of the scheme, and was ordered to pay restitution in the same amount as part of her sentence.
The case was brought as part of the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s (NCDF) nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters.
U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente announced that Thomas was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. and will be placed on three years of supervised release following her imprisonment.
Assistant United States Attorney Chandra Menon prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The NCDF is urging anyone with knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations to contact them at (866) 720-5721, or by email at disaster@leo.gov.
RELATED: Chicago Man Sentenced to 34 Years for Child Exploitation
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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