JACKSON – A Vicksburg man was found guilty Wednesday of making a false claim to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Hurricane Katrina relief funds and faces up to five years in prison.

In the first FEMA fraud trial in Mississippi since the storm, Bryan Michael Beets, 33, was ordered into custody of the U.S. Marshal Service by U.S. District Judge David Bramlette to await further hearings.

Hundreds more may be prosecuted, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, which set up a special fraud investigation staff to investigate bogus claims for federal relief aid and money.

Beets also faces up to a $250,000 fine on evidence showing that he filed a claim with FEMA using a Long Beach address that belonged to his ex-wife.

At the time of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on Aug. 29, Beets was living and working in Vicksburg at an automobile dealership. Additionally, the evidence showed that Beets used the Long Beach address to receive $360 and 12 nights of hotel accommodations in Texas from the American Red Cross.

&#8220The jury’s verdict should send a clear message to those who have illegally obtained money following Katrina that fraud will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton. &#8220I would suggest to any person who might consider committing fraud now or in the wake of a future disaster to reconsider. If you commit fraud and are caught, you will be prosecuted.”

The investigation was by the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, created by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in September to investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes like charity fraud, identity theft, procurement fraud and insurance fraud.

The task force includes members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Postal Inspector’s Office and the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, among others.

A local Katrina Fraud Task Force consisting of more than 20 federal and state law enforcement agencies was formed in the Southern District of Mississippi to pursue and prosecute those who file false and fraudulent claims.

Anyone with information concerning possible fraud being committed during the post-Katrina recovery effort is asked to contact the DHS-OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or the FBI Fraud Hotline at 1-800-225-5324.

Beets was among the first people charged with making false claims.