Reply #3: FEMA refused to release report reviews...Ohio, Michigan also questioned

[rainbow4321]

Looks like Ohio and Michigan also had questionable payments...and where the hell does FEMA get off refusing to release reviews when it is taxpayer $$ that they are asking for and giving out??

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fema23dec23,0,371556.story


"What the Sun-Sentinel investigation shows is that not only has there been widespread fraud in Florida, but the entire FEMA payment process is infested with fraudulent payments," said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton. "This necessitates a redrawing of the process from start to finish, because way too much money is being wasted."

When the newspaper first reported in October on millions going to Miami-Dade residents, FEMA officials said they had adequate controls to ensure claims paid are legitimate. But the agency has a pattern of approving large amounts in areas with minimal damage.

Last year in Ohio, officials assessing the effects of severe storms in July and August identified 213 damaged residences in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland. In 206 of those, the damage was described as "minor," according to Ohio Emergency Management Agency records. Yet FEMA paid $44.2 million to 30,446 Cuyahoga residents.

Hastings' bill will focus in part on FEMA inspectors who visit homes to verify damage. The government awarded five-year contracts worth $150 million each to two private companies to do the inspections. Under the contracts, the companies check inspectors' work. FEMA refuses to make the reviews public, but Burris said they do not "indicate that there's a problem."