Hurricane Katrina 'Victim' Indicted on Fraud Charges in Memphis

By Alicia Cruz
Senior writer
Theblackurbantimes

All of us remember the tragic wake left behind from Hurricane Katrina four years ago. The deadly 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused catestrophic damage that has lingered for years.
The exact number of deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina will never be known since many bodies were never recovered, but records show at least 1,836 lives were lost and over 300,000 lives, businesses, and homes from Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana were either obliterated or affected by Katrina. Authorites in Memphis say Janice Cain (Pictured Left) was not one of them.
However, the Memphis woman received more than $16,000 in emergency disaster relief from the federal government, according to a federal indictment accusing her of mail fraud and of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
Cain falsely claimed that her primary residence at the time of the August 2005 disaster was 830 Crawford Street in Biloxi.“The applications also falsely claimed that Hurricane Katrina caused damage to her home and personal property in Biloxi, Miss.,” the indictment says. “In truth and fact, the defendant was not living in Biloxi, Miss., at the time of the hurricane.”
Cain's attorney, L. Daniel Johnson declined comment.
The Justice Department’s Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force has charged more than 800 people with hurricane fraud-related crimes and has recovered more than $13 million.In Memphis, three others have been indicted in federal court and another in state court in the past two years.

The Commercial Appeal.com is reporting that there are several other local Katrina fraud indictments:
-- June 2009: Jennifer Blaye, 38, indicted on federal charges of allegedly defrauding FEMA of $140,000 in disaster relief by using false names and Social Security numbers. Has pleaded not guilty.
-- December 2008: Jonnie McGowan Jr., 41, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $10,224 in federal relief funds. Sentenced to restitution and eight months home detention.
-- April 2008: Cynthia Grice, 38, pleaded guilty to defrauding FEMA. Sentenced to two years probation, $2,000 restitution.
-- April 2007: Labrina Louis, 27, pleaded guilty to state charges of bilking the Memphis Red Cross chapter of $1,610 by pretending to be a Katrina victim. Sentenced to two years probation and restitution.