Their homes burned in wildfires. Fraudsters took their disaster relief funds, feds say
Joyce Turner, a 55-year-old Texas resident; Tyrone D. Barnes Jr., 38, of Paramount; and Hedeshia Robertson, 36, of Lakewood were arrested Tuesday after being charged with defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
The defendants allegedly took advantage of a FEMA program created in the wake of the Eaton and Palisades fires, disasters that began tearing through the state in early January and collectively burned nearly 37,600 acres, destroyed more than 16,000 structures and resulted in the deaths of 29 people.
"These false claims resulted in badly needed disaster-relief money being denied to actual wildfire victims while these defendants allegedly used property information to illegally line their own pockets,' said acting U.S. Atty. Joseph McNally.
Read more: Teams being deployed to prevent, prosecute insurance fraud after fires
The defendants could not be reached for comment. It is unclear whether Turner has legal representation. Barnes and Robertson's public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Turner allegedly submitted an application on Jan. 9 claiming that a Pasadena rental property on Walnut Street had been damaged in the Eaton fire, according to a federal criminal complaint. The following day, Turner allegedly called into the FEMA disaster center hotline to modify the address to a townhouse on Del Rey Avenue.
She allegedly forged a lease to appear as if she lived at the home on Del Rey Avenue, and as a result, federal authorities say, Turner received more than $25,000 from FEMA. The Walnut Street address was not damaged in the fire. Although the Del Rey Avenue property was damaged, the property owners had not applied for disaster assistance.
The Del Rey Avenue home had been listed for sale in 2024 and was vacant prior to the fires, according to the complaint.
Federal authorities said Turner appears never to have lived in California.
Read more: LAPD says wildfire-relief scammers are on the prowl, offers tips, resources
According to the complaint, Turner submitted at least 10 other applications to FEMA for disaster relief tied to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Isaac, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Beryl. Her criminal history includes prior arrests and convictions for fraud offenses, authorities said Wednesday.
Turner also allegedly applied for unemployment insurance benefits from the California Employment Development Department in August 2020 and again this January, according to the complaint. EDD paid her more than $50,000 tied to one claim, authorities said.
Barnes, who has been charged with a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim against the U.S., allegedly submitted a disaster relief claim to FEMA for an Altadena property owned by other individuals who did not know Barnes, according to a federal indictment.
The true owners of the property on Harding Avenue learned of the fraud after contacting FEMA about potential assistance. The victims, identified in the indictment only by their initials, M.S. and A.S., were told someone else had already submitted an application for their property, according to the indictment.
Robertson allegedly filed a fraudulent application for FEMA benefits on Jan. 28, seeking benefits tied to a damaged residence in Pacific Palisades. Authorities said Robertson didn't own, rent, reside or work at that property.
As a result of the application, Robertson allegedly obtained nearly $25,000 in FEMA benefits. In February Robertson also submitted a letter to FEMA requesting additional assistance, stating, "I have lost both my home and workplace, leaving me in an extremely difficult financial and personal situation," according to a criminal complaint.
At the time of her arrest, Robertson also allegedly attempted to obtain additional FEMA benefits for a purported property lease in San Francisco.
A charge of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits could result in up to 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office in L.A. A charge of false, fictitious or fraudulent claim against the U.S. could result in up to five years.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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