GAYS MILLS, Wis. (WTAQ) - An 81 year old Wisconsin woman says she doesn't have the $10,000 FEMA wants her to pay back.

Phyllis Drake and 75 year old Blanche Gabel have been told they need to return the federal money they got after the flooding of the Kickapoo River swamped the village of Gays Mills in 2007 and 2008.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says some of the people who got checks weren't eligible because they got duplicate benefits from sources like insurance companies.

In other cases human or accounting errors were to blame. The agency is required by law to recover improperly spent money.

However, FEMA says it will work with individuals who think they have received noticies in error -- or, who have questions about their case.

The women are appealing. Drake says the money she received is long gone, used for furniture, kitchen utensils at her Red Apple Restaurant, or other contents of her home.