. `` This has not and will not change my commitment to the progress and recovery of our city . '' He said he pleaded not guilty , but said he will not speak further about the case . `` I am the mayor of Gulfport , and I will continue working to rebuild our city , '' Warr said . `` We have hundreds of dedicated employees , department heads and directors , and everything we have achieved thus far is a result of their hard work and love for this city . `` For Laura and me , personally , this is a difficult time , but I will continue the work as mayor . '' According to the indictment , the Warrs in 2005 applied for FEMA assistance regarding a Gulfport home , telling officials that home was their primary residence when it was not . In 2006 , the indictment says , the couple applied to the Mississippi Development Authority for a Homeowner 's Assistance Grant funded by HUD , again claiming they lived at the address . The indictment also alleges the Warrs made misrepresentations to Lexington Insurance Company regarding personal property in the insured
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The mayor of Gulfport , Mississippi , and his wife were arrested Wednesday on charges they defrauded the federal government and an insurance company of more than $ 220,000 in claims related to Hurricane Katrina , authorities said . Gulfport Mayor Gregory Brent Warr , shown in 2005 , says the charges `` will not change my commitment '' to the city . Gregory Brent Warr and Laura Jean Warr were named in a 16-count federal indictment handed up last week by a grand jury , the Department of Justice said in a news release . They are accused of conspiracy , Federal Emergency Management Agency fraud , Department of Housing and Urban Development home grant fraud and insurance fraud , all arising from claims after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on August 29 , 2005 . If convicted on each count , the couple would face up to 210 years in prison and up to $ 4 million in fines , prosecutors said . `` Understand that what has been alleged toward my wife and me has no connection to me as mayor , '' Brent Warr said in a statement issued Wednesday