[StBernard] NAPOLEONVILLE WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING FEMA

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Sat Oct 6 00:13:40 EDT 2007


NAPOLEONVILLE WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING FEMA
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA -ALBERTINE WIGGINS, age 24, a resident of
Napoleonville, Louisiana, pled guilty yesterday before U. S. District Judge
Ivan Lemelle to wire fraud and theft of government funds related to a
fraudulent FEMA application she filed in July of 2006, announced U. S.
Attorney Jim Letten.

According to court documents, ALBERTINE WIGGINS contacted FEMA
purportedly to obtain financial assistance for another individual. In the
course of this contact with FEMA, WIGGINS, provided her personal checking
account number to FEMA, and as a result approximately $6,000 was transferred
to WIGGINS. The individual for whom the assistance was to be provided did
not receive the money.


U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that the indictment is merely a
charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a
reasonable doubt.


ALBERTINE WIGGINS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty
(20) years and is subject to a fine of up to $250,000. Her sentencing is
scheduled for January 16, 2008.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Dan Friel.





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