A Texas woman is scheduled to be sentenced in Los Angeles on Wednesday for fraudulently obtaining over $28,000 in federal disaster relief funds by falsely claiming to be a Pasadena resident living in a property damaged by the Eaton Fire as well as obtaining over $54,000 in jobless benefits under false pretenses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joyce Turner, 57, of Rosharon, Texas, pled guilty in federal court last year to one count of fraud involving catastrophic disaster or emergency assistance and one count of mail fraud.
According to her plea bargain, Turner filed a bogus disaster benefits application with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, falsely claiming to live in Pasadena in a rental unit damaged by the Eaton fire. Turner did not live in California; thus, he was not eligible for the benefits.
FEMA sent Turner $28,195 in wildfire disaster relief funds based on her fake and fraudulent application, according to documents filed in federal court in Los Angeles.
Turner also admitted in her plea agreement that in August 2020, she filed a fraudulent claim for California unemployment insurance, falsely claiming that she had been working in California but had lost her job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was entitled to unemployment insurance benefits, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Following Turner’s false and fraudulent application, California’s Employment Development Department awarded her $54,360 in jobless benefits to which she was not entitled, via a debit card mailed to her Los Angeles home.
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