A San Diego woman pleaded guilty today to taking more than $20,000 in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief she didn't deserve.
Cynthia D. Magee, 43, admitted that shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, she submitted a claim for disaster relief to the Federal Emergency Management Administration, falsely stating that her primary residence was in New Orleans.
Magee subsequently received more than $14,000 in FEMA benefits, prosecutors said.
She also admitted that she traveled throughout the Gulf Coast region collecting Red Cross disaster-relief debit cards by falsely claiming to reside in Louisiana and Mississippi and receiving more than $5,000 in disaster assistance funds, according to prosecutors.
In a hearing today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nita Stormes, Magee pleaded guilty to making a false statement and wire fraud.
She will be sentenced Jan. 10.
