Overview

• Joyce Turner, 57, of Rosharon, Texas, admitted to one count of disaster-benefits fraud and one count of mail fraud.
• Prosecutors say she filed a FEMA claim on January 10, 2025, falsely stating she rented a Pasadena home damaged by the Eaton Fire, leading to a $28,195 payout.
• She also acknowledged submitting a false California unemployment claim in August 2020, resulting in $54,360 loaded onto a debit card mailed to a Los Angeles address.
• She faces statutory maximums of 30 years on the disaster-fraud count and 20 years on the mail-fraud count, remains free on bond, and will appear before Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald.
• The DHS Office of Inspector General investigated the case, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office says stemmed from aid made available after a fire that killed 18 people and destroyed more than 10,000 structures.