The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay more than $1 million as part of a settlement over allegations of falsified Hurricane Katrina aid claims.

The settlement came in response to a lawsuit filed last year accusing the archdiocese of fraudulently applying for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money to repair facilities allegedly damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

AECOM, a consulting firm specializing in environmental cleanup services, was also named in the lawsuit.

The archdiocese was charged with violating the federal False Claims Act by signing falsified damage descriptions and repair estimates — not once but over a period of six years, from 2007 to 2013.

"Funds fraudulently obtained from FEMA deprive deserving recipients and communities truly in need," said Inspector General Dr. Joseph V. Cuffari for Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG).

The allegations against the archdiocese were originally brought under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Robert Romero, an AECOM project specialist, who discovered the falsified documents.

The False Claims Act permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in any recovery. The law also allows the federal government to intervene in such an action, as it did in this case, in part against AECOM, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and other disaster relief applicants in June 2020.

This is only the most recent financial blow to the New Orleans archdiocese. In May last year, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of multiple lawsuits arising from no fewer than 81 charges of sex abuse by clergy in its jurisdiction.