Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum banner

FEMA & flood damage reimbursement

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  The_Game 
#1 ·
I gather that reps from FEMA will be going door to door in my community on Monday, trying to find people to give money to.

I had no water in my basement, but I had a lot of water in my yard as a result of a storm sewer intake being overrun and the water spilling up over the curb into my yard, forming a pond in a low spot.

So I figure that my water retention basin, involuntary or not, must be worth something. And I had to eventually pump all that water out of my sump pump basket. That resulted in some wear and tear on my sump pump, electrical usage, and some less than perfect nights as I tossed and turned in bed, listening to my pump turn on every 45 seconds.

My logic is that people who didn't get their basements flooded out should be paid the same amount, at least once or twice, as the people whose basements were flooded out. This would help reward the people who did it right and don't need to have their furnace, water heater, etc. replaced. This gov't payout would help defray the cost of doing to job right the first time.

Any other suggestions on how to defraud the gov't?

How about ways to scare the bejesus out of a federal employee?

Any comments would be appreciated, but I figure they have all seen "Silence of the Lambs".:clap:
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
The money given is for people with real damage. There is a list of criteria established and the limited money is intended to go where is needed. Frankly a wet yard is really no a major loss afffecting your housing. There have been many people with prolems that worse than yours that do not happen to be in a general area that was hit bad enough.

Why would you try to scare someone that is hired for this event to give away money? - It does not make any sense. FEMA does not have many employees and it is geared for reporting and evaluating for future disposition. They do not walk around with money and most inspectors/evaluators are not regular employees (Intermitant/temporary - like a subcontractor with no benefits usually).
 
#3 ·
My old boss is working for FEMA. Last January we had dinner together and he tried to explain some of the things they do. Don't try to make any sense of it. Just figure that if you don't make enough to retire you might be working for FEMA too. Not a bad gig if you don't mind hotels, rental cars, and expense accounts. Apparently construction experience and common sense is really not a requirement.
 
#4 ·
I worked in a position similar to FEMA. It was the SBA, which verifies damage for the purpose of obtaining the low cost loans (not gifts) to be used for rebuilding. Usually, the loans are best for people with no or not enough insurance or for people that lived in fllood areas where the officials did not want to admit it was bad enough to get the cheap flood insurance (N.O. area mainly).

For me and a few thousand others, it is a temporary job with no benefits. Premium pay for more than 40 hours. We had goverment credit cards to monitor/control costs and we were resonsible for bill if it was not fully paid by the government. Usually only government selected hotels and rental cars, all at government rates. - The government gets good rates at the right hotels because of the need for good internet for reporting. Food and incidentals are covered by a per deim rate depending on the location. There is an expense account, but usually only for tolls, copies, etc,. so there is not much room for profiting there.

I spent about 5 or 6 months working after Katrins, Rita and Willma. Depending on the needs and demands, it was 48 hours per week up to 70 hours per week. The rates depend on experience and backgound. - Not a big money-maker, but very interesting and satisfying. Most people I worked with signed up for future work, but there has been very few demands and most have not worked since then.
 
#5 ·
I am a GC for fema

in any disaster now fema gps the location take picture before and after the work is done.
if the picture don't look legit they go back and investigates.
$1.00 to $9 999.99 up to 5 years in jails
10k and more 4 years plus (federal offence)

Heres couple file for june

06/23/08: Dallas Man Sentenced 20 years in Hurricane Fraud Case
* 06/19/08: Two More Indicted and Three More Sentenced on Disaster Relief Fraud Charges in Baton Rouge
* 06/17/08: Sacramento Man Admits Filing False Claim to Steal Hurricane Katrina Disaster Assistance
* 06/13/08: Jones County Woman Sentenced to Prison for Fraud (pdf)
* 06/09/08: Woman Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding U.S. Government of More than $3,000
* 06/09/08: Eight Sentenced for Participating in Houston FEMA Fraud Ring

in may&june alone over 75 court cases.
50+jail sentence they don't mess around anymore since katrina they are on every case with a scope.

i dont like to see my honest tax money go to crooks.

so do the right thing, stealing federal money is a crime bud.
have a great day
www.ftellc.com
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top