Connecticut Man Charged Over Massachusetts Tornado Fraud

A federal grand jury in Connecticut has returned an indictment charging a 41-year-old man with fraudulently securing federal assistance by claiming that he was a victim of a series of tornadoes that killed four people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in central and western Massachusetts.

Federal prosecutors in Connecticut allege Robbie Rossi, a former Massachusetts resident, obtained more than $12,000 in federal disaster relief by falsely claiming that he lived at a west Springfield home damaged by the June 1, 2011 storm.

Prosecutors say Rossi provided the federal Emergency Management Agency with false documents of rent payments he claimed to have paid after the storm.

He was arrested on Jan. 14 in Las Vegas and is awaiting transportation to Connecticut to face two counts of mail fraud.

It was not immediately clear if Rossi has an attorney.