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FEMA Katrina fraud A Jackson woman pleaded guilty to making false claims to the government wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court in Mobile last week. Lawanda Trena Williams, 32, was accused of making 28 fraudulent claims to FEMA for disaster assistance after Hurricane Katrina and is said to have received $277,377 for alleged damages to her home on Dove Lane in Jackson. Investigators say Williams used several aliases and addresses in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida on the applications for assistance. Williams fled when FBI agents and local law enforcement officers arrived at her home with a search warrant. A $1,000 reward was offered for help in capturing her. She turned herself in to authorities the next week. Her trial was scheduled to begin in October, but she pled guilty to the charges against her in federal court Sept. 13. She will be sentenced Jan. 24, 2007. Items she had purchased with the FEMA funds were turned over, as part of the plea agreement, to count towards the restitution Williams owes. Those items included property on Jackie and Linda Road in Jackson, a mobile home, a 2005 Nissan Altima, a 1999 Ford Mustang, a 2001 Ford Taurus, two televisions, a DVD player, desktop scanner and a security system. Williams' mother, Hannah Williams, 48, of Grove Hill has been indicted on charges of making false claims to the government, mail fraud and wire fraud. According to the indictment, Hannah Williams applied for disaster relief funds from FEMA claiming her home on King Institute Way in Grove Hill was damaged by flooding and sewer backup from Hurricane Katrina. She received nearly $23,000 in disaster relief funds. Investigators say Hannah Williams had actually moved out of the home 18 months before the storm.
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