3 East Texas family members sentenced to more than 4 years in federal prison for stealing hurricane relief funds
All 3 must repay nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds
LUFKIN, Texas — An East Texas couple and their adult daughter were each sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for their roles in stealing federal funds that were intended to aid victims of Hurricanes Rita, Katrina, Ike and Dolly.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, FBI, Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Texas State Auditor’s Office.
Walter Diggles, 66, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,326,049.91 in restitution to the government. Rosie Diggles, 64, and Anita Diggles, 42, were each sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution jointly to the government in the amount of $971,143.57. Walter and Rosie Diggles are from Jasper, Texas; Anita Diggles is from Houston, Texas.
All three were convicted Aug. 3, 2017, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Additionally, Walter Diggles was convicted of 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and three counts of money laundering. Rosie Diggles was also convicted of 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
"Today's sentence resulted from an outstanding collaborative effort among the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, IRS, HSI Houston, HUD, and the Texas State Auditor's Office," said Special Agent in Charge Mark B. Dawson, HSI Houston. "By working together as a team, we were able to bring justice to the hurricane victims to whom these funds were intended to aid."
U.S. Attorney Joseph Brown, Eastern District of Texas, hopes the sentences will deter future criminals from taking advantage of disaster victims. “The defendants stole from the taxpayers, and these kinds of frauds take money away from real people – disaster victims,” said Brown. “This was an appropriate sentence, and hopefully it will help deter some of this type of behavior the next time.”
IRS Dallas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Tamera Cantu believes the sentences demonstrate the commitment by law enforcement agencies operating in Texas to promote open and honest government and to prosecute anyone who violates the public trust. “Today’s sentences underscore our commitment to work in a collaborative effort to promote honest and ethical government at all levels and to prosecute those who violate the public’s trust,” said Cantu.
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