CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — After the raging Cedar River filled his home with 13 feet of water and ruined most of his possessions, Justin Van Fleet pleaded for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get back on his feet.
Dead broke and living in a FEMA trailer after the 2008 flood, Van Fleet repeatedly submitted paperwork and made countless phone calls arguing his case. After seven months, the agency finally gave him more than $20,000, which he said gave him his life back and allowed him to move into a house.
Then, in March, a letter arrived from the government with a shocking message: He should never have gotten the money. And he had just 30 days to pay it all back.
The agency is asking Van Fleet and thousands of other Americans who were victims of natural disasters to return more than $22 million in government aid, acknowledging it mistakenly made payments to many people who were ineligible.
FEMA is required by law to recover improperly spent money, but most of the people who were helped say they used the cash years ago, and they don’t want to be financially punished because of the agency’s errors.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that FEMA is seeking payments from more than 5,500 people who were affected by 129 disasters since 2005. The agency is still reviewing records, and more repayment requests could go out soon, including to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
FEMA admits the payments were largely its own fault — the result of employees who misunderstood eligibility rules, approved duplicate assistance for costs that already were covered by insurance or other sources, or made accounting errors.
People who are asked to make repayments have several options. They may appeal the matter, apply for a hardship waiver that would forgive the debt or establish a payment plan.
In Van Fleet’s case, the agency concluded that the aid was a duplication of benefits since he had flood insurance. Van Fleet said his insurance payout went directly to his mortgage but that it didn’t help him since he could neither rebuild nor sell the house.
