I knew from my friends with Galveston homes that the venerable Flagship Hotel had seen its better days, but I didn’t realize that it had come to this:

United States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg announced today the return of a 39-count indictment charging Daniel Yeh, 52, of Sugar Land, Texas, with 22 counts of wire fraud and 17 counts of filing false claims against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Yeh is the principal owner of Flagship Hotel Ltd., which operates the Flagship Hotel (Flagship), located at 2501 Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, Texas.

Yeh is accused of wire fraud and filing false claims totaling at least $232,000 in connection with disaster relief lodging programs for hurricane evacuees funded by FEMAís Public Assistance Program. . . . Yeh is accused of filing fraudulent claims for reimbursement for

(1) rooms in the names of hotel employees who previously stayed at the Flagship free of charge as part of their employment arrangement;
(2) rooms in the name of supposed hurricane evacuees on dates when those rooms were occupied by paying hotel guests with different names;
(3) rooms occupied by friends, relatives, and employees of his wifeís business, who were recruited to stay at the hotel, but were not evacuees;
(4) rooms in the names of supposed hurricane evacuees who never had rooms at the Flagship;
(5) rooms in the name of supposed hurricane evacuees on dates when those rooms were unoccupied; and
(6) for multiple rooms in the names of a single guest when, in fact, the guest occupied fewer rooms than billed.

Each of the twenty-two wire fraud counts carries a punishment of up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. Each of the seventeen false claim counts carries a punishment of up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

Hat tip to the ever-observant Peter Henning for the link to the DOJ press release.