Disabled, elderly residents from assisted-living centers in New York City's Rockaway peninsula and Queens are being asked to pay back thousands of dollars that the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided them following Superstorm Sandy, the Associated Press reported.
At least a dozen of Belle Harbor Manor residents, including 61-year-old Robert Rosenberg, received FEMA notices informing them that although they had received disaster aid two years ago in the storm's immediate aftermath, they had now retroactively been declared ineligible for the checks and would have until Nov. 15 to refund their checks or file an appeal, according to CBS News.
The money was apparently supposed to have been spent on temporary housing instead of the residents receiving aid while moving from one state-funded shelter to another, the letter stated.
"We're on a fixed income. I don't have that kind of money!" said Rosenberg, who has been asked to refund a check for $2,486.
In September, it was reported that about 4,500 ineligible households were being investigated by FEMA for having received aid payments either because of errors, a misunderstanding of the rules or outright fraud, the Associated Press reported. At that time, 850 had been asked to return a collective $5.8 million.
"Data obtained through a previous public records request, however, showed that as of July 30, the agency was considering a recoupment action against 35 residents of assisted living facilities in the same part of Queens that is home to Belle Harbor Manor," according to Fox News.
"Collectively, those residents had received $108,598, with most of that money intended to cover temporary housing."
But Rosenberg, who suffers from a spinal disability and other chronic health problems, complained that FEMA workers had urged him to apply for assistance without making it clear that the money could only be used for housing.
"Everyone asked, 'Do we have to pay this back later on? Is it a loan?' They said, 'No. It's a gift from Obama,'" he said. "If I wasn't eligible, then why give it to me in the first place? They knew we were living in an adult home. They knew our shelter was being paid for by the state. It's not like we lied on the application."
The agency is required by law to recoup improper payments, said FEMA spokeswoman Rafael Lemaitre, who did not directly address the residents' situation, according to the AP.
"FEMA remains committed to working with applicants and ensuring they have an understanding of the options available to resolve their debt, which includes making a payment, filling an appeal, requesting a compromise and establishing a payment plan," he said.
Meanwhile, the Belle Manor residents, many of whom suffer from mild mental illnesses, are being offered assistance by lawyers at MFY Legal Services, a legal aid group that has worked with adult home residents in the past, if they plan to file appeals in the future.
"Our position is that it would be an unbearable financial hardship and unjust," to require the residents to repay the money, said MFY attorney Nahid Sorooshyari.
