Prosecutors said the woman and a co-defendent received more than $60,000 in federal relief funds intended for wildfire victims.
A Hawaii woman has been sentenced to federal prison for her role in a scheme that fraudulently took disaster relief funds intended in part for victims of the Pacific Palisades wildfires, authorities said.
Pacific Palisades was among the communities cited in the case, which involved false claims submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency following recent wildfire disasters.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii, Chelsea Johnson, 32, of Honolulu was sentenced to four months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The sentence includes four months of home confinement and an order to repay $60,458 in restitution.
Prosecutors said Johnson and a co-defendant, Daylyn Harris, submitted fraudulent applications for federal disaster aid tied to wildfires in both Hawaii and Southern California. The claims included alleged losses of housing, income and personal property, despite neither defendant living in the affected areas.
Authorities said Johnson falsely claimed she lived in Pacific Palisades during the wildfire and reported losing housing and incurring other expenses. She also posed as a landlord to support Harris’ separate fraudulent claim tied to the Lahaina wildfire in Hawaii.
Together, the pair received more than $60,000 in federal relief funds intended for wildfire victims, prosecutors said.
Harris has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced May 4.
