Scott A. Clapper, Jr., FEMA Defrauding, New York 2016

A Schoharie man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for making false statements and submitting false documents in connection with government benefits he received following Hurricane Irene.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Scott A. Clapper, Jr., age 31, of Schoharie, New York, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for making false statements and submitting false documents in connection with government benefits he received following Hurricane Irene.

According to the court documents, Clapper admitted to making false statements and submitting false documents to FEMA following Hurricane Irene, which struck New York in August 2011 and made uninhabitable the Schoharie County home in which Clapper was living at the time.

In an effort to secure more government aid, Clapper submitted to FEMA fake lease agreements and rent receipts containing the forged signature of his landlord. The documents stated that his monthly rent at his new home in Westerlo was $1,200, when it was really only $500.

As a result of these falsehoods, Clapper received $16,426 from FEMA.

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also ordered Clapper to serve 3 years of supervised release, to begin upon Clapper’s release from prison; to pay $16,426 in restitution to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and to pay a $1,300 special assessment to the Court.

Clapper will serve the 18-month prison sentence concurrently with state prison sentences he is currently serving for burglary convictions unrelated to his defrauding of FEMA. He becomes eligible for state parole in March 2019.

This case was investigated by the Detroit Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Barnett.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/schoharie-man-sentenced-18-months-defrauding-fema