Posted on 08/10/2005 12:54:14 AM PDT by lunarbicep
The federal government used hurricane aid money to pay funeral expenses for at least 203 Floridians whose deaths were not caused by last year's storms, the state's coroners have concluded.
The deaths include a Palm Beach Gardens millionaire recovering from heart surgery who died two days before Hurricane Frances; a Miami baby not yet born when the storm arrived; and a Port Charlotte man who died of cirrhosis and heart failure five months after Hurricane Charley.
In two other cases, coroners could find no record of the people dying.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
His widow, Jacqui Solodar, said she thinks the hospital was short-staffed while preparing for Frances. "My husband had an episode and there was no one there to take care of him," she said.
The hospital disagrees, saying it was "more than adequately staffed," said spokeswoman Patti Patrick.
Two weeks after her husband's burial, Jacqui Solodar said she reported the death to FEMA. A caseworker visited her home, she said, and within days she received $7,500, the maximum funeral payout.
Sheldon Solodar, who had run a paperboard company, left an estate worth $2 million, court records show.
The Sand! Too cheap to bury her own husband.
But scamming them for funeral expenses does trigger my ewwww response, as well.
So once they determine it wasn't related, can't they try to recover the $$$. If the Federal Gov't deposited too much in my account from an IRS refund (haha, wish I got one), they'd certainly come looking for the money once they discovered the mistake.
So when will we see the feds recover our tax money from these scam artists and the bureaucrats who approved these handouts fired from FEMA? How can citizens respect a government that would throw them in jail for failing to pay $7500 tax dollars when a millionaire can steal those same tax dollars and get away with it?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.