4 Agree to Plead Guilty to Making False Claims for Quake Relief

In the first fraud convictions related to the hundreds of millions of dollars being doled out for earthquake relief, four people have agreed to plead guilty to falsely claiming to have lived in the Northridge apartment building where 16 people died, authorities said Monday.

Each of the four sought aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency by telephoning an agency assistance line and giving their address as the Northridge Meadows apartment building on Reseda Boulevard, where the collapse caused the greatest concentration of casualties during the Jan. 17 quake, prosecutors said.

Pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to a single count of making a false claim to a government agency were Daniel Richards, 42, of Hollywood; Denise Jones, 35, of Carson, and Miguel Cordero, 34, of Van Nuys. Mary Mitchell, 27, of Paramount has agreed to enter a guilty plea Wednesday, authorities said.

The four cases are the first fraud prosecutions arising out of the half-million applications for assistance related to the quake, but officials said as many as 10 more arrests are expected within a week or so. FEMA has sent out checks for more than $600 million to cover temporary housing costs and minor repairs.

In light of the prosecutions, U.S. Atty. Nora M. Manella urged anyone who has filed false aid claims to “take stock of their situation and consider withdrawing their claims or returning the money they have improperly received.”

A multi-agency task force plans to announce another round of prosecutions this week, officials said.

Federal officials got a break that led to the first four arrests when a mail carrier noticed that checks were arriving addressed to people with unfamiliar names. He contacted his supervisor and the anti-fraud task force became involved.

Officials said Cordero claimed in his FEMA application that he lived in the apartment where mechanic Pil Soon Lee and his 14-year-old son were crushed to death; Richards said he lived in the apartment where a 52-year-old man died.

Cordero, Jones and Mitchell all received $2,300 checks. Richards did not receive any money but repeated the claim that he had lived at the Northridge Meadows complex when he was contacted by investigating agents posing as relief workers.

Deputy Federal Public Defender Anthony Eaglin, who represented Cordero, confirmed that his client had pleaded guilty but declined further comment. Cordero is to be sentenced May 16. Public defenders representing the other two who pleaded guilty did not return telephone calls. Richards is to be sentenced May 2 and Jones on June 27.

Each faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three years probation.