Thursday 4 April 2013

Officials 'can't account for' $700 million in Katrina aid

A new report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development paints a grim picture of a program that was supposed to help Louisiana's Katrina victims protect their homes from future storms - to the tune of $700 million in misplaced taxpayer money.


 The relief program, which disbursed grants of up to $30,000 to more than 24,000 homeowners, was supposed to be used to elevate homes and protect property in areas vulnerable to storm surges.

Instead, as the report by Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) David Montoya now shows, of the $1 billion earmarked for home improvements, homeowners seem to have spent a striking majority - at least $700 million - on anything but.

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