MIAMI, May 18 (UPI) -- A federal report on how the government handled hurricane claims in Miami-Dade County, Fla., last year showed flaws in most of the cases.
The internal report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the problems ranged from phony claims to late arrivals by inspectors, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
The report completed by FEMA has been sent to a Senate committee investigating allegations of fraud and waste after Hurricane Frances hit 100 miles north of Miami.
In at least 57 percent of the 1,350 cases that were investigated, at least one problem was found.
FEMA is seeking to get back $133,453.98 in claims that were incorrectly awarded. But it also found that the agency should pay out an additional $281,744.15 in underpayments.
FEMA officials said the error rate was about normal for all disasters.
"Our error rate after disasters typically runs around 50 percent," said Dan Craig, chief of FEMA's recovery division.
