Another Indicted, Two More Plead Guilty In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Disaster Relief Fraud Charges

BATON ROUGE, LA—United States Attorney David R. Dugas announced today that another Louisiana resident was indicted and two more pled guilty in federal court on fraud charges related to a hurricane disaster relief program. 

CRYSTAL G. JOHNSON, age 26, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was charged in an indictment today with three counts of mail fraud and one count of making a false claim in connection with the filing of a fraudulent claim with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance benefits. The indictment alleges that CRYSTAL JOHNSON presented a claim to FEMA that fraudulently stated her primary residence at the time of the storm was at an address in New Orleans, Louisiana. The indictment further alleges that as a result of JOHNSON’s fraudulent claim, FEMA mailed three checks to her totaling over $14,000. The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. If convicted on all four counts of the indictment, CRYSTAL JOHNSON faces a maximum sentence of a term of imprisonment of sixty-five years, a $1,000,000 fine, or both.

THADDEUS JOHNSON, JR., age 29, and SUSAN J. JOHNSON, age 50, both of Clinton, Louisiana, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge James J. Brady to Count One of an indictment charging each of them with wire fraud in connection with the filing of fraudulent claims with FEMA for Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance benefits. In response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA made available rental assistance payments to qualified individuals in need of such assistance. According to the factual bases in the plea agreements, from in or about June 2006 through in or about August 2007, THADDEUS JOHNSON, JR., was living rent-free with his mother, SUSAN J. JOHNSON. During this time period, SUSAN J. JOHNSON created and signed false and fraudulent rent receipts that appeared to show that THADDEUS JOHNSON, JR., had paid monthly rent. The fraudulent receipts were submitted to FEMA in support of claims for rental assistance payments, causing funds totaling $10,731.40 to be transferred by FEMA into a bank account accessed by THADDEUS JOHNSON, JR. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. As a result of the guilty pleas, THADDEUS JOHNSON, JR. and SUSAN J. JOHNSON each face a maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both. As a condition in the plea agreements, THADDEUS JOHNSON, JR. and SUSAN J. JOHNSON will jointly be responsible for $10,731.40 in restitution to FEMA. 

Today’s indictment brings the total number of individuals who have been charged in the Middle District of Louisiana with violations related to hurricane disaster relief funds to one hundred seventy-two. 

In September 2005, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, designed to deter, investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes such as charity fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and insurance fraud. The Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force – chaired by the Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division – includes the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and others.

For further information, contact David R. Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, or Lyman Thornton, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, at (225) 389-0443. Anyone suspecting criminal activity involving disaster assistance programs can make an anonymous report by calling the toll-free Hurricane Relief Fraud Hotline, 1-866-720-5721, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice. Information can also be emailed to the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force at HKFTF@leo.gov or sent by surface mail, with as many details as possible, to Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.

NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by the defendant. The defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until and unless he/she is proven guilty at trial.