Businessman Sued over Holiday Home that Looks Like Temple Pavilion

[rooster59]

Nearly 2,000 complaints of Harvey scammers, fraudsters and gougers

By Diane Bartz

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As some waters recede following Hurricane Harvey's devastating winds and rain, reports of scam artists taking advantage of victims are surging.

 

As of Friday afternoon, Texas authorities had received 1,992 complaints about price gouging and fraud, with 636 of the complaints about gas stations overcharging customers, said Jennifer Speller, a spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

 

A Best Western hotel is accused of gouging an estimated 40 customers, according to Texas television station KXAN, which reported that rooms that normally cost $120 to $149 a night were suddenly priced at $289. The customers have been offered refunds, KXAN reported.

 

Sharp price hikes on necessities like shelter, food and gasoline are illegal if a disaster has been declared, said Speller.

 

The storm's 50-plus inches of rain displaced more than 1 million people and shut down about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity.

 

After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005, a government fraud task force prosecuted 1,439 people for charity scams, defrauding the government and other charges, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported in 2011.

 

With that experience in memory, the government on Thursday announced that it had created a task force to fight fraud and scams. The group includes the Texas attorney general, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and others.

 

"We're trying to get ahead of this game. We also hope to have a deterrent impact," said Shamoil Shipchandler, director of the SEC's Fort Worth office.

 

Outside of Texas, the government has received complaints about suspicious sales agents who offer to help people invest in rebuilding Texas while also making a profit, according to Shipchandler.

 

The Federal Trade Commission received a handful of complaints about fraud and more than 100 complaints about violation of do-not-call requirements, FTC spokesman Frank Dorman said in an email. The calls were to solicit donations, survey storm damage and sell flood insurance, among others.

 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, hoping to get ahead of charity fraud, announced on Friday that the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation would work with the OneStar Foundation to create a relief fund for Harvey's victims.

 

With people just getting back into their homes, the next round of fraud is likely to be contractors who collect payment for promised work and then disappear.

 

"Call back in a week or so when we are expecting the contractor scams," said Speller.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-02

[Dumbastheycome]

So Trump  puts a  cap on relief  funding. Hmmmm.  Supplies  supplies!

[radiochaser]

On 9/2/2017 at 11:33 AM, Dumbastheycome said:

So Trump  puts a  cap on relief  funding. Hmmmm.  Supplies  supplies!

You mean this cap?

"

Sep 02, 2017

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has sent lawmakers an initial request for a $7.9 billion down payment toward Harvey relief and recovery efforts.

The request, expected to be swiftly approved by Congress, would add $7.4 billion to rapidly dwindling Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster aid coffers and $450 million to finance disaster loans for small businesses."

[radiochaser]

AUGUST 31, 2017 | 01:27PM PT

President Donald Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced at a press conference on Thursday.

“He would like to join in the efforts that a lot of the people we’ve seen across this country do, and he’s pledging $1 million of personal money to the fund,” she said at the press conference. During the briefing, Sanders also asked the media for suggestions regarding which specific organization Trump should donate to.

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, radiochaser said:

AUGUST 31, 2017 | 01:27PM PT

President Donald Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced at a press conference on Thursday.

“He would like to join in the efforts that a lot of the people we’ve seen across this country do, and he’s pledging $1 million of personal money to the fund,” she said at the press conference. During the briefing, Sanders also asked the media for suggestions regarding which specific organization Trump should donate to.

What you don't say is that before Harvey he was planning to slash the FEMA budget. And also the budget of the NOAA, the people responsible for tracking and studying hurricanes among other things.

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, radiochaser said:

AUGUST 31, 2017 | 01:27PM PT

President Donald Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced at a press conference on Thursday.

“He would like to join in the efforts that a lot of the people we’ve seen across this country do, and he’s pledging $1 million of personal money to the fund,” she said at the press conference. During the briefing, Sanders also asked the media for suggestions regarding which specific organization Trump should donate to.

He has pledged many things, but is doing nothing. On top of that, his past charity donations don't bode well for this pledge.

Edited September 7, 2017 by stevenl