JACKSON- Leading up to the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Louis Allen Stiglet and Todd Northrop each entered a guilty plea in cases relating to Hurricane Katrina fraud.
The pleas were accepted in United States District Court for the Southern District on Friday, August 28, 2009.
Louis Allen Stiglet tendered a plea of guilty to Count 2 of the indictment in the case which charged him with stealing and converting money and other property of the United States having a value of more than $1,000. He was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $131,021.17.
Todd Northrop tendered a plea of guilty to Count 7 of the indictment in his case which is wire fraud. He used a false address when filing paperwork with the Mississippi Development Authority for the homeowners grant program. Northrop was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $21,756.73.
“As many Mississippians remembered the devastating aftermath of August 29, 2005, two individuals plead guilty to defrauding the taxpayers and taking advantage of assistance programs specifically designed to help those that lost their homes in the worst natural disaster in our Nation’s history,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “Our office in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General, Housing and Urban Development, the United States Attorney’s Office and other members of the Katrina Task Force continue to investigate Mississippi Development Authority homeowner grant cases and are proud to have brought 40 indictments, 22 guilty pleas and four guilty verdicts since the creation of the Task Force in 2005.”
Fraud committed following Katrina was estimated by the federal government to be 7-10 percent of all funds available to Mississippians following the storm. With over $24 billion paid so far, Mississippi is proud to announce that it has experienced ½ of 1 percent of fraud.
“This is a result of the joint efforts by the State of Mississippi and the federal agencies,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “This is an excellent example of governmental partnerships and our office is proud to work on behalf of Mississippian’s impacted by Hurricane Katrina to ensure that we protect the reputation and integrity of all taxpayers.”
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