United States of America v. Joyce Turner

Los Angeles, California, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with fraudulently obtaining FEMA disaster relief money.

Reported by Kent Morlan

Joyce Turner, 56, of Rosharon, Texas, submitted a fraudulent disaster benefits application to FEMA, falsely claiming she lived in Pasadena in a rental property that had been damaged by the Eaton Fire. In fact, Turner did not live in California and did not qualify for the benefits.

FEMA, relying on Turner’s false and fraudulent claim, sent her $28,195 in wildfire disaster relief money.

Turner further admitted in her plea agreement that in August 2020 she submitted a fraudulent claim for California unemployment insurance falsely claiming she had been working in California and lost work because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.

Following this false and fraudulent claim, California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) provided Turner with $54,360 in jobless benefits to which she was not entitled – providing these benefits through a debit card mailed to Turner at an address in Los Angeles.

The United States Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 21 months in prison and was ordered to pay $82,555 in restitution.