Houston Woman Sentenced for Theft of Government Funds Related to Hurricane Katrina
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 17, 2011 |
ELAINE L. MULLONE, age 64, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to five years’ probation for three counts of theft of government funds and was ordered to forfeit to the government her Madisonville, Louisiana property, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, MULLONE, whose primary residence was in Houston, Texas, at the time Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana, falsely represented that her property in Madisonville, Louisiana, was her primary residence when she applied for grants and benefits from FEMA, the SBA, and the Louisiana Road Home Program. MULLONE received approximately $364,330 in government benefits from these programs to which she was not entitled.
The case was investigated by agents from the Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of the Inspector General, the Small Business Administration - Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Homeland Security - Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Loan “Mimi” Nguyen.