United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced on April 30th that Jasmine Williams, 33, of Plymouth Meeting was arrested after being charged by indictment with one count of fraud related to a major disaster declaration, 24 counts of wire fraud, and seven counts of mail fraud in connection to a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA following Hurricane Ida impacting the local area.

In the aftermath of the hurricane in September 2021 President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration for much of the eastern part of state. This declaration authorized FEMA to provide financial assistance to residents whose homes and properties were damaged by the hurricane.

According to the announcement, following this emergency declaration Williams utilized social media to advertise her services to assist people in applying for the FEMA benefits. Williams is accused of submitting fraudulent documents to FEMA on behalf of dozens of others, including fraudulent leases, letters from landlords, utility bills, earning statements, and home repair estimates. Williams was compensated by collecting half of the payout for herself. In total, FEMA paid over $1,500,000 in assistance based on false representations made by Williams.

If convicted, Williams faces a maximum possible sentence of 960 years of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency – Fraud Prevention and Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ruth Mandelbaum and S. Chandler Harris.