Micahel Rosella, 45, has been charged by the grand jury in the District of Columbia on one count of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering.

The charges are merely accusations, meaning Rosella remains innocent until proven guilty.

The charges specifically pertain to the allegation that Rosella submitted a claim for $US2.3 million ($A2.9 million) to the Gulf Coast claims facility on behalf of a factitious entity called the Bayou Barataria Sportsmen's Resort.

Rosella allegedly claimed that the resort was a successful hotel and sport fishing business in Louisiana which suffered lost profits due to the spill.

The documents submitted by Rosella allegedly contained false affidavits of the resort's owners, federal tax filings, state sales tax records, financial statements and invoices.

Meanwhile BP appealed a court ruling on the amount of oil spilt in the accident, claiming the court's previous ruling of 3.19 million barrels should be downgraded to 2.45MMbbl.

The US government has put the spill higher at 4.19MMbbl.

A separate recent court decision capped the maximum fine for BP at $4300 for each barrel discharged into the ocean, with BP having hoped for $3000 a barrel.

The current maximum fine BP is facing is $13.7 billion.