FEMA Offers Review Of Sandy Payouts Following Fraud Claims, But Some Say They're Skeptical
BALDWIN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- An important deadline is looming for thousands of victims of Superstorm Sandy.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, it's an offer you'd think homeowners can't refuse: the possibility of more money on their damaged home claims from FEMA.
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But many who spoke with Gusoff turned down the review, saying they've lost trust in the system set up to help them.
Diane Delaney's Baldwin house, destroyed by Sandy, was rebuilt with the help of FEMA funds. But she believes the government shortchanged her.
"(Gusoff: Do you think your overall payout was fair?) No, I do no. I don't think it was fair at all," she said.
Yet, Delaney is giving up the fight.
"The work, the time, the effort, the trauma -- everything that we've gone through, you just can't go through that twice," she said.
And she's not alone.
After Sandy, 142,000 claims were filed. Then, fraud was uncovered; engineers were accused of coordinating with insurance companies to lower payouts, Gusoff reported.
FEMA then offered to review anyone's case, but only 11,000 have accepted the offer so far.
FEMA's invitation to flood insurance policy holders: "If you believe we underpaid your claim...you may be eligible for an additional payment."
A spokesman said the agency wants people to have certainty that they received the right payout.
"The truth is, we don't know how many people were underpaid, just a handful or if it's thousands. But for us, the most important thing we can do is to restore trust in the program," said FEMA Director of Public Affairs Rafael Lemaitre.
But many said they have no energy left to tackle more red tape.
"I would not ask for another dime because the paperwork, and the aggravation, and the gut-wrenching that you had to go through," said Sandy victim Honi Reisman.
Others worry the review will backfire.
"It will open up a can of worms, it'll open up a can of audits...and that's a real problem, and people are afraid at this point," said one homeowner.
But the Touro Law School Disaster Relief Clinic is urging homeowners to fight the fight.
"Right now, there is just money being left on the table. So we are advising everyone to move forward. And in the event there is any duplication of benefits, they can deal with that at the end," said Melissa Luckman, with the clinic.
FEMA promises an easy, fair and transparent review process that gives homeowners the benefit of the doubt.
Touro said it has already seen 20 homeowners who filed for the review and are now due as much as $10,000.
The deadline to sign up for the FEMA review is Sept. 15.
