Florida is home to some of the craziest criminal schemes in the country.
Sometimes these crooks are not the sharpest tool in the shed.
And a Florida woman’s scam fell apart after she was caught telling one insane lie.
Florida woman tries to scam hurricane relief money with a fake identity
Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida causing tens of billions of dollars’ worth of damage.
Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 while Milton was a Category 3 storm that struck Siesta Key, Florida on October 9.
Criminals are always looking for ways to take advantage of tragedy.
Veronica Torres, a 44-year-old, thought she found a way to get her hands on some hurricane relief money.
The Bradenton, Florida resident lived near where Milton made landfall, so she came up with what she thought was the perfect crime.
Torres told the city of Bradenton’s Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program that damage from Helene and Milton had forced her to move out of her home.
She applied for the Disaster Assistance Program using her mother’s driver’s license and Social Security card.
A city official approved her for $7,967 in disaster relief aid but noted that she looked much younger than the age she listed on her application.
Torres claimed that Botox treatments worked wonders for her and restored her youthful appearance.
The city official was not buying the Botox story from Torres.
She was asked to return the next and the Bradenton Police Department was there waiting for her.
Torres was arrested for filing a false public assistance claim which is a third-degree felony in Florida.
The would-be fraudster was released on a $2,500 bond.
Thieves and scam artists look to take advantage of a natural disaster
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned Floridians to be on the lookout for scam artists looking to steal their identity after the hurricanes.
“Thieves try to apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses, and Social Security numbers they have stolen from people affected by a disaster,” FEMA said in a statement.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned criminals against committing scams after Hurricane Milton.
“We said it before the first storm, and before the second storm, don’t even think about using those as an opportunity to take advantage of people who may be in dire straits,” DeSantis said at the time.
Floridians were targeted by fake contractors who promise to make repairs and take the money and run or do a shoddy job.
These scammers go door to door after a hurricane and promise to make repairs at bargain prices.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy set up a sting operation that netted almost 40 unlicensed contractors.
“A lot of these people are desperate and vulnerable because they just want their stuff fixed and, unfortunately, the adage, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” Gualtieri said.
Most of these criminals were from out of state or were illegal aliens with lengthy criminal histories.
“They are coming in from outside the area to exploit our residents and our businesses,” Gualtieri explained. “At least six of these people are in the United States illegally.”
Criminals see a hurricane as a golden opportunity for them to exploit vulnerable residents.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
