WOODLAND HILLS : Couple Charged With Filing False Claims in Flood, Quake
A Woodland hills couple have pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court to charges that they filed fraudulent damage claims with the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency after both the 1992 flood and last January’s earthquake.
“This is the first incident of someone . . . who has taken advantage of two natural disasters,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Nathan Hochman.
After the flood of February, 1992, Douglas Maskart, 53, and Joyce Maskart, 44, applied for compensation for damage to their home. They sent forged rental receipts and received 18 months of rental assistance from FEMA totaling $11,256, Hochman said.
After the earthquake, the Maskarts filed three FEMA applications for disaster relief, claiming they had lost $34,380 in personal belongings. They also submitted four false disaster home loan applications with the SBA, Hochman said. Their trial is set to begin Dec. 13.
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