FBI agents arrested a woman in Corona de Tucson on suspicion of defrauding the U.S. government after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an official said Friday.
Sandra K. Howell was apprehended by authorities on Tuesday in the 1000 block of South Chatfield Drive, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Tucson near West Camino del Toro and South Houghton Road, said Deborah McCarley, an FBI spokeswoman in Phoenix.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, Howell and a man identified as Charles Joseph Chaisson used phony addresses to collect thousands of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, claiming their homes and all of their belongings had been destroyed in the hurricanes.
Chaisson's brother, Gregory J. Chaisson, is also named in the complaint as having participated in the fraudulent schemes.
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Howell made the first claim on Sept. 6, 2005, about a week after a disaster was declared from Hurricane Katrina. Three days later FEMA paid Howell $2,000, according to the complaint.
FEMA also contacted Howell asking for proof that she lived at the New Orleans address she listed, and Howell sent a letter via fax claiming she had no proof of residency because all her belongings had been destroyed in the hurricane.
According to the complaint, an FBI agent confirmed in January 2006 that the listed address did not exist as a taxable property in New Orleans, nor was it a deliverable address for mail.
On the day Hurricane Rita made landfall in September 2005, Howell and Chaisson arrived in San Angelo, Texas, according to the complaint. Two days later, they filed an application for disaster assistance, listing damaged property in Lafayette, La. The two claimed to have rented a home there and that it was their primary residency when Hurricane Rita hit.
Three days later a U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $2,000 was issued to Chaisson.
After further investigation and additional payouts, on May 30, 2007, a federal agent spoke via telephone with a man who said he had rented the home in Lafayette for the last 13 years. The man said he agreed to rent a room to Howell between the two hurricanes but kicked her out after the first night.
The man said Chaisson never lived at the address.
In August 2006, Howell asked for additional money from FEMA, requesting assistance for her pending move to Arizona due to a medical condition.
According to the criminal complaint, "Howell continued to pursue her claim for assistance for Hurricane Rita, ultimately collecting an additional $11,861.51 in 2006 in monetary benefits from FEMA."
Howell's attorney and FBI agents in Texas could not immediately be contacted for comment.
