The government is looking into whether eBay sellers in Gulf Coast states are trying to profit from military foodstuffs handed out for free following hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Representatives for eBay, the online auctioneer company, say it is impossible to prove that any of the meals were meant for hurricane victims. They note that MREs can be bought in camping stores and Army-Navy surplus outlets.

But at least some of the MREs advertised on the Web site are being sold from Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and other Gulf states, and are individually packaged with a disclaimer that clearly notes: “U.S. Government property — Commercial resale is unlawful.”

Told of the eBay sales, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, R. David Paulison, said he “will not tolerate any type of fraud, and we will pursue it to the fullest extent.” FEMA distributed millions of MREs to hurricane victims over the past two months.

eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said the San Jose, Calif.-based company has not received any complaints from government or law enforcement officials about MRE sales in the wake of the recent storms.

Additionally, Durzy said, eBay has asked the Pentagon to cite the law that would prohibits the sale of its MREs, but has not gotten an answer.

“When we asked them to show us a law to show it is unlawful, and they were unable to do so, we said they’re legal as far as we’re concerned,” Durzy said.

eBay does prohibit the selling of expired MREs that are not advertised as a collector’s item, Durzy said. Items that would violate the law if sold through eBay are removed from the site, he said.

Posted: 10|30|05 at 9:48 am. Filed under: US News.