FEMA in the USVI
FEMA in the USVI
A history of federal disaster recovery in the U.S. Virgin Islands — what was committed, what was spent, what took years too long, and what the public record shows about fraud and mismanagement along the way.
The scale in one paragraph
When Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the USVI within 14 days in September 2017, the territory estimated total damages at $10.7 billion. As of January 2025, FEMA has committed $16 billion through its Public Assistance program for emergency and permanent repairs. The USVI Office of Disaster Recovery coordinates what is now anticipated to be $25 billion in total federal funding across all agencies. As of 2024, approximately 990 of roughly 1,500 FEMA Public Assistance projects had been completed — nearly seven years after the storms.
How FEMA works in U.S. territories
FEMA — the Federal Emergency Management Agency — is authorized under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 5121–5207) to provide disaster assistance to states, territories, and tribal nations following a Presidential disaster declaration. The USVI, as a U.S. territory, is fully eligible for FEMA programs but faces a structural disadvantage: unlike states, territories have no senators and only one non-voting delegate in the House, limiting their political leverage to push for faster funding and fewer bureaucratic hurdles.
FEMA operates three main programs in disaster recovery: Public Assistance (PA) — grants to the territorial government for infrastructure, debris removal, and emergency work; Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) — funding to reduce future disaster risk; and Individual Assistance (IA) — direct payments to households for emergency needs, home repair, and displacement. The federal share is typically 75% of eligible costs. After the 2017 hurricanes, Congress authorized a 100% federal share for the USVI — no local match required.
What this section covers — and what it doesn't
This section covers only confirmed criminal convictions (from DOJ press releases) and documented findings by federal Inspector General offices and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). It does not include allegations, pending investigations, or news reporting that has not resulted in a confirmed finding. The standard is the same as VIIQ's Accountability Record page: what courts and federal watchdog agencies have confirmed in writing.
Disaster fraud — fraudulently obtaining federal disaster relief funds through the FEMA Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) Program
Campbell's company was a subcontractor performing STEP-funded work on St. Croix following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The STEP Program provided federal funds for essential repairs to homes damaged by the storms. From August through October 2018, Campbell executed a scheme to submit fraudulent invoices and timesheets claiming payment for work that was not actually performed. The scheme included invoices listing the names of workers who were not on the island. Campbell directed employees to fill in false information on time sheets she had them sign blank. Total scheme involved approximately $840,000 in federal disaster funds.
Three co-defendants — including Leovigildo Gómez-Geo and Wilfredo Valentin-Perez — were charged alongside Campbell in February 2019. The case was investigated by DHS Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations.
No congressional vote
The USVI has one non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives and no senators. When Puerto Rico's recovery stalled after Maria, the territory had Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón — a voting ally with floor privileges in certain circumstances — aggressively lobbying Congress. The USVI has Stacey Plaskett, who cannot vote on the floor. The territory's ability to force action on federal recovery dollars is structurally weaker than any U.S. state would be in the same situation.
Limited local capacity to administer grants
FEMA does not simply write checks — it funds projects that must be designed, bid, permitted, and managed by local governments. The USVI entered 2017 with a government that was already understaffed due to years of budget cuts and austerity. GAO documented this repeatedly: the territory didn't have enough qualified people to fill recovery positions, write grant applications, or manage contractor oversight at the scale the recovery required.
Bureaucratic complexity of FEMA programs
FEMA's Public Assistance program requires detailed project worksheets, cost estimates, environmental reviews, and compliance documentation before funds are released. For a territory already in fiscal distress, developing accurate fixed-cost estimates for 1,500 projects while simultaneously keeping basic government services running was an almost impossible administrative burden. GAO documented that officials often didn't understand which FEMA guidance was in effect — a problem FEMA failed to address quickly.
Pre-existing fiscal crisis
The USVI entered the 2017 storms already carrying $2 billion in tax-supported debt, a $110 million structural deficit, and GERS on the brink of insolvency. Even with 100% federal cost sharing, the territory had to maintain cash flow to manage recovery operations before FEMA reimbursed costs. A government that couldn't issue bonds in the commercial market had enormous difficulty funding the upfront costs of recovery that FEMA would eventually reimburse.
"The USVI estimated $10.7 billion in damages. As of January 2025, FEMA has committed $16 billion — and the recovery is still ongoing, nearly eight years later."
— VIIQ editorial summary · Sources: GAO, FEMA, USVI ODRSources: U.S. Government Accountability Office: GAO-19-253 (Feb. 2019), GAO-20-54 (Nov. 2019), GAO-19-662T (June 2019), GAO-22-106211 (Sept. 2022); FEMA press release, "FEMA Obligates $1.02 Billion for Critical Repairs and Replacement of Territory's 911 Communication Towers and Power Plants" (Jan. 17, 2025); U.S. Dept. of Justice, USAO-VI, "Owner of Construction Company Sentenced to Prison for Disaster Fraud in the United States Virgin Islands" (Jan. 2020); DOJ USAO-VI, "Owner of Construction Company and Three Others Charged with Disaster Fraud and Identity Theft" (Feb. 2019); USVI Office of Disaster Recovery (usviodr.com) — HMGP funding data, ODR funding summary; USVI Legislature, 35th Session, Committee on Disaster Recovery briefing (July 2024); DHS Office of Inspector General press releases; Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121–5207; CNBC, "Four people charged in scheme to bilk federal disaster funds in the U.S. Virgin Islands" (Feb. 2019); VI Consortium; St. Thomas Source. Note: Pre-2017 FEMA activation dollar amounts for Hugo (1989) and Marilyn (1995) are not fully digitized in federal public records; figures for those disasters are characterizations from available news reporting and general historical records rather than confirmed federal data.