 Fishing grounds closed 2200 extra commercial licenses sold |
BP has paid out more than $308m in compensation to individuals and businesses since the oil spill, but fishermen and Gulf of Mexico officials fear some of that money might have gone to fraudsters…
In order to claim compensation from BP, fishermen must prove they hold a commercial fishing license. The only place to get one in Louisiana is the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in Baton Rouge.
Since the oil spill, roughly 2,200 more commercial licences have been sold than in the same period last year, despite many fishing grounds being closed.
Lt Col Jeff Mayne of the LDWF Law Enforcement Division says some of those licences may have been used to commit fraud.
“Originally BP was paying cheques to just anybody who had a licence and that may have spurred some of the fraud,” he says. “There were no real checks and balances on whether they were they really commercial fishermen.”
In the past week, LDWF made its first three arrests in relation to fraudulent oil spill compensation claims…
No – I’m not surprised.
Not surprised here. BP just showing more stupidity. Keep the people who really need the money waiting, help those who dont.
So you’re blaming BP for being the target of fraud?
These criminals are just following the lead of the administration, but through extra-legal routes. “The business of America is business” no longer, now the business of America is attacking business.
The crackpot theory is that BP put in these fake applications itself, so it ends up getting paid back out of it’s own $20 billion slush-fund.
I wonder how many of these “fraudsters” are Democrats?
Lets see whats missing here.
HOW much money is lost to this?
Fisherman
Fish processors
Shipping and handling business of FISH around the USA.
STORES that sell fish
restaurants
AND YOU..as you cant buy those fish, the price OF FISH will go up.
NOW who in this list, ISNT getting money?
Anyone taking bets on weather or not these fraudsters were actually BP execs?
Naa, can’t happen. Only the government is targeted by fraudsters. Private companies are too smart to ever get hoodwinked.
Of course, if BP didn’t screw up in the first place they would be paying any fishermen.
It is only legal to commit fraud if you are a government contractor and have paid the appropriate bribes. Those that bypass this procedure will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I’m surprised, surprised it took this long for the fraudsters to surface. First of MANY.
I can see now why you didn’t pay anything to those folks in Bhophal. Don’t give a dime to the people you destroy, walk away saying it’s not your fault and then pretend you have a clear conscience. That’s the American way of doing business!
It’s hard to match the American level of self-denial and hypocrisy though — claiming that a fraud you commit is actually BP’s doing is truly special.
this is just business as usual in the bayou… new orlean itself is just one big corrupt shit hole… during katrina it was the cops doing most of the looting. no big surprise here.
This is absolute bull shit.. And even if it was true so what? BP is not paying people shit, that’s why business are closing and people are going hungry. 308 million is all they have payed out? That’s peanuts.. For the lifes they have ended and the families they have ruined.
BP or “Butt pluggers” should have been closed asses sets taken and given out to the people, instead butt pluggers are going to ram it in all of us and come out smelling like a rose.
#10 faustus ‘this is just business as usual in the bayou’
Unfortunately that’s all too true. I have known people to run a garden hose in their house so they could claim damage from one of the frequent floods caused by heavy rain.
I never thought they would prosecute the danziger bridge bunch so maybe things are changing.
If BP hadn’t paid out, would you be bashing them like you bash insurance companies?
You’d think that list of New Fishing Licenses would be a road map for law enforcement to arrest these ne’er do wells. aka = a most stupid fraud, until you realize that 100’s of thousands of crime scene dna remains untested by law enforcement for a number of reasons = all ridiculous.
Fraud is easy to commit. The issue is only how “risk tolerant” are you.
What did I just say?
I guess if you own enough BP stock, you’ll post just about anything that might eventually save BP stockholders some money.
There’s lots of commenting guidelines to censor readers of Dvorak Uncensored, so why aren’t there any disclosure guidelines for sleazy, self-serving editors, who publish nonsense corporate propaganda to serve themselves and their own personal bank accounts?
Poor, poor BP. I guess they will now have a bake sale to raise funds.
Wow. I never thought this would happen.
In the city of Richmond, every time there is any kind of “event” involving the refineries there, and there is any kind of bad air, all the “citizens” go running to the emergency room to get themselves documented for the five thousand bucks they each get from Chevron.
I have seen if in person. Bunch of welfare cheats who learn fast how to cheat some more. I can imagine what class of citizens are getting those licenses.
Never mind citizens posing as fishermen, when did Ryan Stiles start impersonating a Louisiana cop?
NO! I’m shocked and stunned!
Aided and abetted by Obama, of course.
Where ever there is cash money, there find a fiddler.
I’ve wondered ever since Bill Gates announced oodles of money – practically unlimited – for ‘health’ research and the like, just how much has been siphoned off by the less desirables in this world. One has to point out, of course, that your figures for this, may not be those of others so what you believe may not be supported by other (largely unknown) evidence.
So. It appears that the term ‘fishing’ has other meanings – particularly in the States bordering the Gulf.