Heck of a Job

There have been a lot of FEMA fraud stories since Hurricane Katrina, but none like this. Late yesterday, Ken McLain, 33, of Dallas, was found guilty of scheming the disaster relief agency out of more than $70,000 in claims connected to Katrina and that other hurricane, Rita. McLain went by...

By Patrick Williams

September 6, 2006

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There have been a lot of FEMA fraud stories since Hurricane Katrina, but none like this. Late yesterday, Ken McLain, 33, of Dallas, was found guilty of scheming the disaster relief agency out of more than $70,000 in claims connected to Katrina and that other hurricane, Rita. McLain went by a lot of aliases (including Roosevelt Hicks, Lonnie Smith, Keith Perry, Paul Linder, Cory Arness, and finally, Jessie), which I guess is something you have to do when you're recruiting homeless people to assist in the scheme. For his chicanry, McLain was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, which U.S. Attorney Richard Roper said "is the stiffest sentence imposed to date in a hurricane fraud case." He also said McLain "deserves every one of the 126 long months he received." --Jesse Hyde

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Patrick Williams is editor-in-chief of the Dallas Observer. Before joining the staff in July 1997, Patrick worked for the Southern Illinoisan, Amarillo Globe News and San Antonio Express-News. As editor-in-chief, he oversees the newsroom and guides the coverage of both the Dallas Observer’s printed publication and online website.

Contact: Patrick Williams