Some of the American Samoan recipients of disaster assistance from the Federal Emergrency Management Agency being asked to pay back the money are appealing their cases.
FEMA spokesman John Hamil says to date eight of the 33 local recipients sent notices of debt letters are appealing.
The amount of money that the 33 are asked to pay back is 165,000 US dollars.
The assistance is for losses and damages from the 2009 earthquake and tsunami.
None of the cases has been identified as fraud.
Last month, FEMA said the grants may have been improperly distributed or money allocated as a result of human error.
