North Carolina woman sentenced for FEMA fraud after Hurricane Helene

Peggy Lee Cantrell, 41, of Marion, North Carolina, has been sentenced to three years in prison and four years of supervised release for defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) following Hurricane Helene.

According to federal prosecutors, Cantrell filed a disaster assistance application in February 2025, falsely claiming that a residence on Beaver Creek Road had been destroyed by the hurricane in September 2024. She initially claimed to be a renter but later amended her application to state she was the owner of the property. During a FEMA inspection, she further misrepresented her ownership status regarding a residential trailer.

Investigations revealed that no dwelling existed at the specified location when the storm occurred, and Cantrell had never lived at or owned the property. At the time Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina, Cantrell was an inmate in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. She was also ordered to pay $30,631.59 in restitution to FEMA.