Three hundred dollars worth of Girls Gone Wild videos and a $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters were among items bought with debit cards handed out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help hurricane victims, auditors probing $1 billion in potential waste and fraud have found.
The cards - given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit.
A recent article on CNN.com reported that the GAO found that at least $1 billion in disaster relief payments were improper and potentially fraudulent because the recipients provided incomplete or incorrect information when they registered for assistance. (GAO report)
FEMA acknowledged its shortcomings late Tuesday.
Spokesman Aaron Walker told CNN.com that FEMA has "revamped the registration process" and has a contract with a company that will verify immediately the identity and address of anyone for assistance.
"We are confident in the system we have in place at this point," Walker said. "We are prepared for the upcoming season."
Results of the GAO's audit will be presented Wednesday to an investigative panel of the House Homeland Security Committee. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
