Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced to 5 Years for $1.7 M FEMA Fraud

Jasmine Williams, 34, of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 32 counts of fraud, including wire and mail fraud, for a scheme that diverted roughly $1.7 million in FEMA assistance following Hurricane Ida. Williams recruited nearly 200 participants, submitted fabricated leases, utility bills and repair estimates, and kept half of the payouts for herself. She also used social media to solicit images of damaged homes and posted personal information of a participant who failed to pay her share. The Justice Department announced the sentence as part of a broader Department of Homeland Security effort to clamp down on disaster‑relief fraud, a priority highlighted by DHS officials. FEMA reported identifying more than 1,700 fraud cases in fiscal year 2025.