Katrina victims in Oprah homes indicted They are accused of taking FEMA money after moving

Three Hurricane Katrina evacuees who found homes in Houston thanks to Oprah Winfrey's charitable foundation are accused of bilking the government of tens of thousands of dollars in housing assistance.

Federal agents arrested the women Wednesday morning at their homes on Angel Lane, to the surprise of neighbors who have struggled to build a thriving community in their southwest Houston subdivision. They plan to arrest the sister of one of the women today on similar charges.

“It was a shock to everyone on the block,” said 18-year-old Julie Paxton, who said one of the women was a nurse and another was a probation officer. “We didn't know people like that would do something like this.”

Darlene Poole, 30, and her sister Lashona Victor, 37, who lives in Louisiana, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for allegedly filing for rental assistance from FEMA after Poole bought a Habitat for Humanity home on Angel Lane three years ago. According to the federal indictment, Victor registered with FEMA as Poole's landlord and the two submitted false lease agreements and rent receipts that prompted FEMA to pay them more than $14,000. Poole also told FEMA she was unemployed, although she was actually working for Harris County's Community Supervision and Corrections Department, the indictment alleges. If convicted, each sister could face up to 20 years in prison.

Others charged

Next door to Poole, 38-year-old Angela Payne was charged with theft of government property and making false statements to FEMA for filing for rental assistance after she bought her Angel Lane home. Down the street, 34-year-old Kiesha Murphy faces the same charges. The indictment alleges Murphy also filed for unemployment assistance despite having a job at Memorial Hermann Hospital, netting more than $12,000 in benefits. Both Murphy and Payne could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

A man who answered Payne's door Wednesday afternoon had “Angela” tattooed on his arm but said he did not know the details of the arrest. No one answered the door at Murphy's address, nor Poole's.

But word had already spread from house to house down the snug two-block street where residents helped build their own homes in 2005, side-by-side with Habitat volunteers, using tools hand-delivered by Oprah. The 65 families selected to live on Angel Lane were given highly affordable, interest-free mortgages on homes decorated and fully furnished by Oprah's Angel Network.

“They've got everything Oprah gave them — a house and everything — and then they've got to do that,” lamented Paxton.

Paxton, who knew Poole, Murphy and Payne, said all three were friendly and apparently upstanding community members — the last people she'd suspect of fraud.

“It's completely devastating,” said Patricia Isaac, 63, who lives down the block from Payne and Poole.

Angel Lane residents have struggled to overcome the challenges of building a new community from scratch after Katrina swept their New Orleans homes away.

When the quiet street started becoming a backdrop for vandalism and thefts, they fought back. Members of the homeowners association worked to quell discord among neighbors. The street has been calm in recent months, neighbors said. But Wednesday's arrests dealt a frustrating new blow.

Tanika Thomas, the vice president of the homeowners association, works full time while pursuing her master's degree. She hopes the arrests won't reflect badly on the hardworking families who constitute the bulk of the neighborhood.

“That's four isolated cases. That can't speak for the whole 65 families,” she said. “We can't punish everybody for what these four did.”

Habitat for Humanity officials declined to comment Wednesday on whether the residents charged with fraud would lose their homes; a spokeswoman would only say that the agency is cooperating with the investigation.

Appeared in court

A spokeswoman for Oprah's Angel Network, Angela De Paul, said only that “we were disappointed to learn of these alleged actions by a few homeowners, but we remain proud of and committed to the hundreds of families we have been able to help through our hurricane rebuilding efforts.”

Wednesday morning, Poole, Murphy and Payne made appearances in federal court, where they were appointed attorneys and released on bond. Victor is expected to surrender to Houston authorities today, according to a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors who have already charged 90 other people with abusing hurricane relief efforts in the Southern District of Texas.

“The response to natural disasters brings out the best and worst in people,” said U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson. “Generous acts of charity are tarnished by those who, despite the generosity of others, fraudulently make claims for government relief funds.”

Chronicle reporter Mary Flood contributed to this report.

jennifer.latson@chron.com