Federal Disaster Relief Fraud - FEMA Fraud Charges
A hurricane destroyed your neighbor's house. You filed for FEMA benefits. Maybe the damage to your property wasn't as bad as you claimed. Maybe you listed an address you weren't really living at. Maybe someone helped you fill out the application and you didn't look too closely at what they wrote. You got approved. The money came fast. Years passed. You moved on.
The federal government didn't.
After every hurricane, wildfire, and flood, FEMA becomes the fastest ATM in America - and the federal government knows exactly who made false withdrawals. FEMA fraud carries a 30-year maximum sentence under 18 USC 1040. That's longer than the mandatory minimum for most armed robberies. The DHS Office of Inspector General uses data analytics to flag suspicious applications within weeks - not years. The National Center for Disaster Fraud coordinates prosecution across all 93 US Attorney offices. One fraudulent application can trigger five separate federal felonies.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal disaster relief fraud defense nationwide. If you're under investigation by DHS OIG, if federal agents have contacted you about a FEMA claim, or if you're worried that something in a past application wasn't accurate - this article explains what you're facing and what options actually exist.
30 Years for a FEMA Application
18 USC 1040 - Fraud in Connection with Major Disaster or Emergency Benefits. Maximum penalty: 30 years in federal prison.
This is the same maximum sentence as wire fraud involving a financial institution. For a FEMA application.
The statute applies to ANY benefit connected to a presidentially declared disaster. Hurricanes. Wildfires. Floods. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. COVID-19 emergency declarations. If FEMA was involved and you recieved benefits you weren't entitled to, this statute applies.
Real cases from 2024-2025: Hedeshia Robertson in Los Angeles filed a fraudulent claim for Pacific Palisades wildfire damage on a property she didn't own, rent, or live in. She recieved $24,899 in FEMA benefits. She now faces up to 30 years in federal prison. Cora Custard in Houston filed at least 30 fraudulent applications across multiple hurricanes - Laura, Sally, and others. She got 57 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $621,388 in restitution.
The dollar amount dosent determine the sentence the way you think it does.
The federal sentencing guidelines impose a MINIMUM offense level of 12 for disaster fraud - regardless of how much money was involved. The U.S. Sentencing Commission specificaly set this floor because they recognized that the loss amount alone doesn't capture the harm of exploiting disaster relief programs. Your $10,000 fraud and someone else's $500,000 fraud both start from the same baseline.
One application can trigger multiple federal charges:
- Major Disaster Benefits Fraud (18 USC 1040) - 30 years
- Wire Fraud (18 USC 1343) - 20-30 years
- Theft of Government Property (18 USC 641) - 10 years
- False Statements (18 USC 1001) - 5 years
- Aggravated Identity Theft (18 USC 1028A) - mandatory +2 years consecutive
Theoretical exposure from one fraudulent FEMA application: over 75 years in federal prison.
In practice, sentences don't reach that level. But the charge stacking gives federal prosecutors enormous leverage. And the historical numbers should worry anyone who thinks there too small to prosecute. The Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force charged 907 defendants in 43 federal judicial districts over three years. The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force - which includes disaster-related fraud - has charged over 3,096 defendants with an 82% conviction rate and recovered $1.4 billion.
This isn't a backburner issue for the Justice Department. Its a permanently staffed enforcement priority.
How the Government Catches FEMA Fraud
People assume FEMA fraud is hard to catch. Chaos after a disaster. Overwhelmed systems. Too many applications to review.
The opposite is true.
The DHS Office of Inspector General runs automated screening at application intake. Data analytics flag anomalies immediately: duplicate Social Security numbers across applications, addresses that don't match property records, patterns suggesting the same person filed under multiple identities. The system catches things humans would miss.
Cross-referencing happens automatically. Your application gets checked against Social Security databases, property ownership records, prior FEMA claims you've filed, and address verification systems. The government's databases talk to each other. And there very good at finding inconsistencies.
They don't investigate every flagged application immediately.
They build a file.
The National Center for Disaster Fraud coordinates prosecution across all 93 US Attorney offices. Tips pour in from neighbors who know you weren't living at that address, insurance adjusters who saw the real damage, social media posts showing you bought a new car with FEMA money. Every major disaster triggers coordinated federal enforcement.
One defendant charged in March 2025 had filed fraudulent FEMA claims for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Ike in 2008. Hurricane Isaac in 2012. Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Hurricane Beryl in 2024. And the Los Angeles wildfires in 2025. Twenty years of fraud across seven federaly declared disasters - all prosecuted in one indictment.
The Disaster Fraud Task Force has been permanantly active since Katrina. Not a temporary response. Not an understaffed unit. A dedicated federal enforcement infrastructure that kicks into high gear after every major disaster.
The gap between filing a false claim and facing federal charges might be months. It might be years. But the data dosent disappear. Your application lives in federal databases indefinatly. And when something triggers a review - a tip, a pattern match, a random audit - everything you filed comes back up.
What to Do If You're Under Investigation
The single most important rule:
Never speak to federal agents without a lawyer present.
DHS OIG investigators seem friendly when they call. Cooperative. Understanding. "We just want to clear this up." "Help us understand your situation." "This will go better if you cooperate."
There building a case.
Anything you say - especially attempts to "explain" or "clarify" - becomes evidence. Talking to investigators without counsel has added obstruction of justice and false statement charges to countless FEMA fraud cases. The friendly conversation becomes a second federal crime.
If your under investigation or concerned you might be:
- Don't destroy any documents related to your FEMA application. Document destruction is a separate federal felony.
- Don't discuss the matter with others who may have been involved. Those conversations can become evidence.
- Don't try to "return" money to FEMA without counsel. This can be used as consciousness of guilt.
- Contact a federal defense attorney immediately.
Beyond prison, theres another consequence most people don't know about. The False Claims Act allows the government to recover THREE TIMES the amount obtained through fraud. A $50,000 fraud becomes $150,000 in civil liability - on top of the criminal case, on top of restitution. Treble damages plus prison plus the original amount.
Todd Spodek has handled federal fraud cases involving government programs. He understands the difference between the investigation stage - where resolution may still be possible - and the indictment stage, where criminal defense becomes the only priority. The earlier an attorney gets involved, the more options typically exist.
When Your Ready
If you filed for FEMA disaster benefits and something wasn't accurate - whether the damage, the address, the ownership, or something else - Spodek Law Group can help you understand where you actually stand.
The consultation is free. Theirs no obligation.
What you'll get is an honest assessment. Are federal agents actively investigating? Has a case been referred to a US Attorney? What does the evidence likely look like? What are realistic outcomes - not best-case fantasies, but actual possibilities based on how these cases resolve?
Call us at 212-300-5196. The government's databases remember every FEMA application filed for decades. The Disaster Fraud Task Force is permanently staffed. But the earlier you have counsel, the more leverage may exist.
Dont wait until federal agents show up at your door.
Were here when you need us.
