On Wednesday, January 31, 2018, it was announced that a Dallas, Texas woman had been sentenced to prison for fraud in connection with federal disaster relief. 58-year-old Dorothy D. Barney was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison. On May 20, 2013, a tornado caused damage in Moore, Oklahoma. The indictment filed on December 6, 2016, explains that Barney filed for disaster aid from FEMA relating to the tornado in early June of 2013.
Instead of using her own name, she used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number for an individual with the initials of CW. The application claimed that an apartment at 854 SW 10th Street in Moore had been damaged. In reality, there was no apartment at that address. Also, CW had not given Barney permission to submit the application and CW did not live in Moore.
The defendant pleaded guilty and admitted to using a materially false document to request disaster aid from FEMA on August 11, 2017. Again, Dorothy D. Barney has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison. She has also been ordered to pay $14,974.83 in restitution to FEMA. Additional details have been made available here.
