Texas Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining Tens of Thousands of Eaton Fire Disaster Money and COVID Jobless Funds
Summary
A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California dated Monday, September 29, 2025, announcing that Joyce Turner, 57, of Rosharon, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits and one count of mail fraud. According to the release, she obtained more than $28,000 in federal disaster relief money by falsely claiming to be a Pasadena resident living in a property damaged by the Eaton Fire, and more than $54,000 in jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The release states that the Eaton Fire ignited on January 7, 2025, and describes the FEMA benefits made available after the presidential disaster declaration.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Full text
Press Release Texas Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Obtaining Tens of Thousands of Eaton Fire Disaster Money and COVID Jobless Funds Monday, September 29, 2025 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California LOS ANGELES – A Texas woman pleaded guilty today to fraudulently obtaining more than $28,000 in federal disaster relief money by falsely claiming that she was a Pasadena resident living in a property damaged by the Eaton Fire and to fraudulently obtaining more than $54,000 in jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Joyce Turner, 57, of Rosharon, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits and one count of mail fraud. On January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire ignited and burned through a residential area in Los Angeles County, killing 18 people and destroying more than 10,000 structures. A presidential disaster declaration was issued on January 8, making emergency federal financial assistance and benefits available to individuals and families affected by the Eaton Fire and to other wildfire victims in the Los Angeles area. Victims who suffered losses because of the Eaton Fire, including renters who lost personal property and/or the use of their rental residences could qualify for benefits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The benefits included money for home repair, personal property damage, transportation, medical expenses, and housing assistance. According to her plea agreement, on January 10, Turner 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. United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald scheduled a January 26, 2026, sentencing hearing, at which time Turner will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for the disaster benefits fraud count and up to 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud count. Turner remains free on bond. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case. Contact Ciaran McEvoy Public Information Officer ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov (213) 894-4465 Updated September 29, 2025 Topics Coronavirus Disaster Fraud Component USAO - California, Central Press Release Number: 25-251 Related Content Press Release Blood Test Lab Owner Pleads Guilty to Evading Over $11.2 Million in Federal Taxes by Using Shill to Illegally Collect Medicare Payments A Burbank man has pleaded guilty to evading the payment of more than $11.2 million in federal taxes by using a shill to illegally collect Medicare reimbursement payments made to... August 29, 2025 Press Release Convicted Felon Federally Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $800,000 in COVID Funds by Hiding Criminal History A San Bernardino County man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he fraudulently obtained more than $800,000 in taxpayer funded COVID-19 relief funds by concealing his... August 6, 2025 Press Release Former Amtrak Employee Sentenced to Over 2 Years in Prison for Crimes, Including Near-$1 Million COVID Jobless Benefits Fraud A former Amtrak employee was sentenced today to 25 months in federal prison for conspiring with her husband to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits... July 17, 2025
File and source
- File
- usao-cdca-pr-texas-woman-pleads-guilty-fraudulently-obtaining-tens-thousands-eaton-fire-disaster.html
- Size
- 102,552 bytes
- SHA-256
- 3b3dd94a74c5abdf7b9747c463348da051df30b416c7c844d3ff89a057483520
- Original
- www.justice.gov