2 SoCal residents charged with defrauding FEMA after Palisades, Eaton fires

Two Southern Californians are among three people charged by the United States Department of Justice with trying to defraud FEMA in the wake of the Eaton and Palisades fires.

Tyrone D. Barnes Jr., 38, of Paramount, and Hedeshia Robertson, 36, of Lakewood, were arrested Tuesday, the DOJ said in a news release. The third alleged fraudster, Joyce Turner, 55, of Rosharon, Texas, was arrested Friday.

Barnes “submitted a disaster relief claim to FEMA for an Altadena property owned by other individuals who did not know Barnes,” the DOJ said.

“The true owners of the property contacted FEMA about potential assistance, which is when they learned another person had already submitted an application in relation to their property,” the release added.

Robertson is accused of “seeking benefits related to a damaged residence in the Pacific Palisades that she did not own, did not rent, and in which she did not reside or work,” resulting in her obtaining just short of $25,000 in FEMA benefits.

The Texan Turner tried a similar scheme, prosecutors said, submitting “an application claiming her home had been destroyed in the Eaton fire, but she appears never to have lived in California and in fact had no connection to the address she claimed was destroyed in the fire.”

Instead, she allegedly forged a lease making it look like she lived there, and she received more than $25,000 from FEMA because of the fraudulent submissions,” the release said.

This also isn’t Turner’s first time being accused of similar frauds.

“Turner submitted at least ten other applications to FEMA for disaster relief (so eleven total) related to seven other federally declared disasters, e.g., Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Ike (2008), Hurricane Isaac (2012), Hurricane Harvey (2017), and Hurricane Beryl (2024), and otherwise has a criminal history showing previous arrests and convictions for fraud offenses,” prosecutors said.

The three face charges of fraud in connection with a major disaster or emergency, which carries a prison term of up to 30 years, and making a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim against the United States, which can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.

“Criminals will seize every opportunity to defraud the government, even at the expense of those who have lost everything,” said Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco. “We strongly urge the public to report any suspicious activity related to disaster relief claims to the HSI Los Angeles’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force and our law enforcement partners.”