WASHINGTON — U.S. House legislation to help victims of the most recent hurricanes also would help some of those who suffered losses under Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane relief bill, which awaits Senate passage, would limit to three years the time the Federal Emergency Management Agency can demand repayments from disaster victims. Thousands of letters have been… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — Five New Jersey residents have been charged with filing fraudulent applications for federal Hurricane Sandy relief funding, bringing the number of people accused by authorities with scamming disaster relief programs since March 2014 to 96. The latest group filed claims for homes they said were primary residences when they were not, the state Attorney… Read the rest of this entry »
Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a contractor accused of bilking victims of Hurricane Sandy out of more than $1.5 million by skipping out on repair jobs after taking their money. Jamie Lynn Lawson, 42, was arrested early Thursday morning at an extended stay hotel in Florence, SC, by U.S. Marshals in that area, said Michael Schroeder,… Read the rest of this entry »
Congressman Chris Smith and Monmouth County Shaun Golden prepare to survey Hurricane Sandy damage. November, 2012
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ4) introduced legislation yesterday that, if enacted, would allow Superstorm Sandy victims who borrowed from the Small Business Administration to fund the rebuilding to their homes and businesses to repay those loans with the proceeds of grants from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Equity for Disaster Victims Act, co-sponsored by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), would correct a con perpetrated by the government on Sandy victims in the aftermath of the strom and reform the federal government’s disaster relief programs to ensure fairness and flexibility.
A state program to lend more than $400 million in taxpayer dollars to replenish affordable housing lost during Hurricane Sandy so far has assisted fewer than two dozen victims of the storm, state statistics show. The Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing began disbursing zero- and low-interest loans in 2014 in the nine counties most affected… Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the contractor helping the Federal Emergency Management Agency review Hurricane Sandy damage claims has demanded that a whistleblower and a law firm stop contacting its employees to bolster allegations that storm victims were shortchanged. The letter from Optimal Solutions and Technologies referenced Jeff Coolidge, a whistleblower who worked for a company… Read the rest of this entry »
FREEHOLD — A Pennsylvania man who claimed to be a home improvement contractor to victims of Hurricane Sandy has been convicted of failing to register his services with the state, officials said on Tuesday. After a two-day trial in Freehold last week, a jury found Daniel F. Sterling, 43, of failure to register as a home… Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON — A government watchdog found that Federal Emergency Management Agency did not properly regulate the private companies who provide flood insurance, whose failure to adequate reimburse Hurricane Sandy victims for their losses led to the agency agreeing to reopen thousands of claims. The report by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general said FEMA did… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — Five people were charged on Thursday with filing falsified applications to get tens of thousands in federal Hurricane Sandy aid, state officials said. The charges bring to 50 the number of people who have been accused by the state Attorney General’s Office since March 2014 of trying to cheat the government out money meant… Read the rest of this entry »