GA Woman Sentenced in FEMA Fraud Case

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A 27-year-old Georgia woman was sentenced to a year in prison on charges of scheming to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Markisha Burks of McDonough was sentenced Tuesday on charges of making a false statement to a governmental agency, mail fraud and wire fraud. She also must pay more than $11,000 in restitution to FEMA and the American Red Cross.

Burks was convicted by a federal jury in December on all 12 counts of fraud after a two-day trial.

Prosecutors say she told FEMA she lived in New Orleans when the hurricane struck when she actually lived in Georgia. They say she received more than $2,000 in emergency housing assistance and more than $9,000 for rental and other assistance from the government.

AP