Debris Removal Fraud Charges Leveled

According to U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, four individuals have been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the federal government involving the creation and submission of false, fraudulent and fictitious Hurricane Katrina debris removal load slips totaling $716,677.

The indicted include Allen Kitto, 24, of Dundee, Fla., Clinton K. Miller, 28, of Carriere, Devin Chuter, 23, of Picayune and Lauren Robertson, 23, of Picayune.
The indictment charges the Kitto owned and operated J.A.K. DC&ER Inc., a debris removal contracting company working as a subcontractor in Pearl River County. Miller, Chuter and Robertson worked for a debris removal monitoring company that also worked in Pearl River County.

Lampton said Chuter and Robertson signed false debris load slips misrepresenting that debris was loaded on trucks when both were not present at the loading site, and often created and signed false load slips at their residences.

The false debris load slips misrepresented that the loads of debris were delivered to a designated dump site in Pearl River County when no debris was delivered or dumped.

Miller collected the false load slips from his co-conspirators and submitted them to the debris removal monitoring company, which, in turn, would submit them to the prime contractor for payment to Kitto. Kitto would deposit the funds into a bank account opened in the name of one of his employees, and then write a check to an un-indicted co-conspirator, who would cash the check and give the cash to Kitto and Miller. Miller would then pay Chuter and Robertson for creating and signing the false load slips along with an extra amount of money that Dunn termed "hush money."

The maximum penalty is five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.