Three people have been charged with fraudulently seeking federal disaster relief funds by falsely claiming their properties were damaged by the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Wednesday.

Two people in Southern California and one in Texas were arrested Tuesday after being charged with defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Officials said that if convicted, they could face felony sentences.

“These defendants allegedly made false and fraudulent claims to FEMA for emergency benefits related to wildfires that devastated Los Angeles County two months ago,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally in a news release. “These false claims resulted in badly needed disaster-relief money being denied to actual wildfire victims while these defendants allegedly used property information to illegally line their own pockets.”

The people were identified as:

• Joyce Turner, 55, of Rosharon, Texas, who allegedly submitted an application claiming her home had been destroyed in the Eaton fire, but appears never to have lived in California and has no connection to the address
• Tyrone D. Barnes Jr., 38, of Paramount, who allegedly submitted a disaster relief claim to FEMA for an Altadena property owned by other individuals who do not know Barnes
• Hedeshia Robertson, 36, of Lakewood, who allegedly filed a fraudulent application for FEMA benefits on Jan. 28, seeking benefits related to a damaged residence in the Pacific Palisades...

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