2 Accused of Collecting on False Quake Claims : Disaster aid: Authorities say suspects face prison and fines for fraudulently saying they lived in buildings damaged by the temblor.

Two Ventura County residents stand accused of collecting federal emergency aid by falsely claiming they lived in apartments damaged by the Northridge earthquake, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

Arturo Cano, 27, of Fillmore and Dedria Kurtz, 27, of Ventura were arrested last week on suspicion of filing the false claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

They are the first county residents accused of fraudulently obtaining federal disaster assistance made available after the earthquake jolted Southern California awake before dawn on Jan. 17, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Nathan J. Hochman.

Cano collected $14,400 in earthquake aid while Kurtz received $2,300, Hochman said.

“They filed one or several claims that they lived in a certain place, when in fact they weren’t living there” when the earthquake hit, Hochman said. “Even though the amount they have taken might seem somewhat small, it adds up very quickly.”

At the time of the earthquake, Cano claimed he was living in the Fillmore Hotel, a residential hotel that was home to dozens of immigrant farm workers. The walls of the hotel collapsed during the quake, and the building has since been razed.

In his application for emergency aid, Cano claimed to have lost furniture, clothing and appliances during the quake. But FEMA investigators learned that Cano left the hotel in May, 1993, about eight months before the quake, Hochman said.

Likewise, Kurtz claimed to have lived in a Canoga Park apartment that she also vacated months before the earthquake, Hochman said. Under questioning by FEMA investigators, Kurtz admitted to filing a false claim, Hochman said.

Both Cano and Kurtz were arrested last week and were free Monday on $10,000 bond. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

With last week’s arrests, 29 FEMA applicants throughout Southern California have now been charged with filing false claims totaling more than $100,000. Two applicants for Small Business Administration loans have been accused of fraudulently seeking more than $1.5 million, and eight retailers have been charged with illegally exchanging food stamps.

In addition, authorities announced last week that two former FEMA earthquake damage inspectors were charged with fabricating inspection reports on properties they never visited.

Based in part on the prosecution of those who have filed fraudulent claims, more than $10 million in checks have been returned to FEMA.

Hochman said people who received money by filing fake claims should consider voluntarily returning the money.

“That would be a strong factor in considering not to prosecute them,” Hochman said. “To date, no one who has voluntarily turned in money has been prosecuted.”

Ventura County residents have filed more than 7,700 applications for FEMA disaster aid since the Jan. 17 quake, with most residents either receiving a check or an explanation of why they are not eligible within weeks of filing.

The deadline for filing disaster claims is July 18.

Emergency relief workers in Ventura County say they have noticed no blatant abuse or fraud in the application process.

“From what we’ve seen so far, we take applications, and all of them seem legitimate,” said Richard Piel, a manager of the earthquake relief service center in Fillmore. “But that’s not a judgment we make. If there is a problem or a discrepancy, that’s handled on up the line.”