Texas Insurance Adjuster Sentenced to 20 Years for Hurricane Ida Fraud

An insurance adjuster from Texas was sentenced to 20 years in prison for pocketing more than $200,000 in insurance payouts meant for St. Charles Parish residents who filed claims to repair damage to their property following Hurricane Ida, according to the St. Charles Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Andrew Joseph Mitchell, 44, of Clear Lake Shore, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft valued over $25,000, two counts of theft valued over $5,000 and five counts of forgery, the District Attorney’s Office said.

"Mitchell could have been a force for good in our community, post Ida. But he chose to victimize our residents all over again for his own financial gain," St. Charles District Attorney Joel Chaisson said in a statement released Thursday.