PORTLAND — A Portland resident faces mail-fraud charges after an investigation into allegations that he made a false statement in order to qualify for Hurricane Katrina-related disaster-relief payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Harold Miller, 41, was indicted by a federal grand jury this week on the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland.

The indictment alleges that Miller falsely claimed that a property he owned in Baton Rouge, La., was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.

As a result, a FEMA check for $2,000 was mailed from a government office in Texas to a post-office box controlled by Miller in Portland.

Investigators say numerous other checks sent to Portland may also be based on fraudulent claims.

Miller was arrested and arraigned yesterday in Portland.