NEWS RELEASE FROM U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE:

   BEAUMONT TX -   United States Attorney Rebecca A. Gregory announced that two Nacogdoches women have been indicted and charged with hurricane related fraud in the Eastern District of Texas.

CAROL RAMSEY, 31, and SIERRA BRIDGES, 22, were indicted by a federal grand jury this week and charged with making a materially false statement to FEMA in connection with applications they filed for federal disaster relief.

        According to the indictment, Ramsey and Bridges were both residents of Nacogdoches, Texas on august 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf Coast.  On September 22, 2005, Ramsey and Bridges devised a scheme in which they used a former New Orleans resident's address and other identifying information to file a fraudulent claim for disaster assistance.  These false claims resulted in the receipt of three disaster assistance checks to be delivered by the United States Postal Service to Ramsey's Nacogdoches address.  A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment on November 5, 2008 charging Ramsey and Bridges with mail fraud and theft.    

        If convicted, Ramsey and Bridges each face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00. 

   In September 2005, the Attorney General's Office created the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, designed to deter, investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes such as charity fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and insurance fraud.  The Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force - chaired by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division - includes members of the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, among others.

         This case is being investigated by the United States Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Malcolm Bales.

         It is important to note that an indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.