Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced a coordinated initiative to fight fraud related to Hurricane Katrina and said billions of dollars in hurricane relief funds were at risk of being wasted or stolen, Reuters reported. The anti-fraud command center will include representatives from the FBI, tax authorities, Secret Service and state and local police. The storm-battered Gulf Coast region is preparing for an influx of federal money that could top $200 billion. "We all know why we are here," assistant FBI director Chris Swecker said at a meeting of officials to kick off the coordinated fraud investigations. "This is as much about deterrence as it is conducting investigations." "Fraud will not go unpunished," said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who joined a meeting of police, prosecutors and government investigators in New Orleans. Federal criminal charges have already been brought against 42 people, including Red Cross employees in California, for attempting to steal disaster relief funds related to Hurricane Katrina, officials said. Of those, 17 have been indicted for impersonating evacuees from the U.S. Gulf Coast in order to claim $2,000 federal relief grants, Richard Skinner, inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters. --more 2232 Local Time 1932 GMT
