Hancock County Man Admits Katrina Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 11, 2013 |
GULFPORT, MS—Anthony L. Bryan, 50, of Hancock County, Mississippi, pled guilty on Wednesday, February 6, 2013, to making false statements to the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) for Hurricane Katrina grant money, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In February, 2008, Bryan applied for an MDA Homeowner Assistance program grant to receive Homeowner Assistance Program or “HAP” assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for damages incurred by Hurricane Katrina at an address in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which he falsely claimed as his primary residence. As a result of his false statement, he received $97,271.73.
Bryan will be sentenced on May 15, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. by Senior U.S. District Judge Walter J. Gex, III. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerry Rushing, Ruth Morgan and Andrea Jones.