In Gulf of Mexico, 'fake fishermen' angle for BP pay

[n2doc]

By Robyn Bresnahan
BBC News, Louisiana

BP has paid out more than $308m in compensation to individuals and businesses since the oil spill, but fishermen and Gulf of Mexico officials fear some of that money might have gone to fraudsters.

Oysterman Pete Vujnovich has been out of work for the past several months. He spends most of his days tidying his boat - the Captain Pete - waiting for the waters around his home in Barataria Bay to reopen to fishing.

A couple months ago, he says, two men he had never seen before approached him near his boat and asked him to sign a paper saying they had worked for him - so they could claim BP compensation.

"Of course," he says. "I didn't sign."

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10934492