St. Thomas Law Review
First Page
791
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon. I wish to thank you and tell you how much I appreciate this opportunity to speak with you today. I have been asked to provide an overview of "Post-Disaster Fraud" from the perspective of local law enforcement: the who, what, when and why. I will be discussing the types of fraud, what to expect as a result of the disaster, and how local law enforcement can respond. You may be asking yourselves why I have been asked to address you on this topic. Let me provide you some personal background. I am an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami State Attorney's Office, and have been for twenty-seven years. I am currently Chief of the Economic Crime Division. Before that, I was an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx District Attorney's Office. I am standing before you for one simple reason - Hurricane Andrew. When the problems arose following Hurricane Andrew, the Miami State Attorney's Office was the recipient of thousands of hurricane-related fraud complaints. As a result, we were forced to develop an expertise in the area of post-disaster fraud. While the problems caused by Hurricane Andrew do not compare to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, I believe that our experiences after Andrew provide a valuable tool to assist in understanding and addressing the problems that can arise in the aftermath of such disasters.
Recommended Citation
Fredric A. Kerstein,
An Overview of Post-Disaster Fraud,
18
St. Thomas L. Rev.
791
(2006).
Available at:
https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol18/iss3/6