A Texas woman is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles for fraudulently obtaining more than $28,000 in federal disaster relief money by falsely claiming she was a Pasadena resident living in a property damaged by the Eaton Fire, and for obtaining more than $54,000 in jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic under false pretenses.
Joyce Turner, 57, of Rosharon, Texas, pleaded guilty in federal court last year to one count of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits and one count of mail fraud.
According to her plea agreement, Turner submitted a fraudulent disaster benefits application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 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…