NEW ORLEANS — In a case distinctly similar to one that took place in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Louisiana has indicted nine members of the $308 million ASI FCU for stealing almost $90,000 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The nine members of the community development credit union are alleged to have used debit cards to make point of sale transactions or ATM withdrawals that were far in excess of their balances in the days after Hurricane Katrina. The transactions generally began in late August and ran into the fall, according to the nine indictments, which a federal grand jury handed down on August 11. The transactions were also made all over the country, representing the different locales where Katrina evacuees ended up.

The largest amount alleged stolen was just over $18,000 and the smallest was $6,775, according to the U.S. attorney's office. A similar case happened in 2002 when Municipal Credit Union was forced to turn roughly 100 members' cases over to prosecutors after the members overdrew their accounts by some $15 million in the days and weeks after the September 11 attacks. The CU said that, over time, it has recovered almost all the money.