Six Indicted for False Katrina Claims

Six Mississippi residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of making false claims to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in an effort to obtain relief funds from Hurricane Katrina.

The Gulfport Sun Herald reported that Judith Turnage of Gulfport was one of the six indicted.

In a separate case, the newspaper said John Johnston of Carriere has been charged with fraud related to Hurricane Katrina.

Johnston is charged with home-repair fraud and violations of the Consumer Protection Act for allegedly taking money to repair a house and failing to do the work. He was arrested Nov. 16 in Pearl River County.

Johnston’s business, ReRoofing America in Gulfport, entered into a contract with a resident whose home was damaged by Katrina and accepted a $10,000 payment, the state attorney general’s office said Tuesday.

The AG’s office worked with several local agencies, including sheriff’s department investigators in Harrison, Jackson and Pearl River counties. Johnston was released from the Jackson County jail on a $2,500 bond a day after his arrest.