A Detroit career employee with customs and border security has been accused of FEMA of thousands of dollars fraud.
In August 2023, the Detroit area experienced a series of floods, causing significant damage to many properties. Michigan then sued the federal government for assistance, and Michigan residents were able to immediately apply for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“This is part of the new FBI's new efforts to crack down on public corruption.”
One Detroit resident who applied for FEMA assistance was Serina Baker-Hill, 55-year-old director of CBP's Center for Automotive and Aerospace Engineering Excellence and Aerospace Engineering. According to press release From the Department of Justice, FEMA inspectors immediately came to Baker Hill's house and determined that her basement had actually been flooded.
Baker Hill was awarded $3,125 to repair her home, wdiv It has been reported. However, she insisted that her home was rewarding while repairs were being made. So FEMA extended $3,190 with two months of rental assistance, bringing the total to $6,315 from FEMA.
Around this time, Baker Hill's husband appears to be under an investigation into the FBI that allegedly trafficked drugs. According to an affidavit cited by WDIV, FBI agents monitored the couple and their homes and found them living in their residences during flood repairs.
A press release from DOJ argued that the couple's home utility showed no reduction in usage as expected during their long absence. Baker-Hill's bank records also revealed that she never spent any rental assistance funds on “rentals, hotels, or utility charges,” the DOJ alleged.
Federal agents reportedly plan to intercept calls between husband and wife and forge HVAC documents to fraud FEMA with more money. A transcript of Cole was included in the affidavit, WDIV reported.
When interviewed with FBI members and the CBP's Office of Expert Responsibility, Baker Hill allegedly promised that he had “never committed any kind of illegal activity or had never fraudulent the US government.”
Baker-Hill is accused of engaging in a scheme to fraudulent FEMA and lying to federal agents. Her husband was not named in the press release. It is unclear whether he has never been charged with a crime before.
The amount that Baker Hill allegedly stolen may seem trivial compared to tens of millions of waste, fraud and abuse already revealed by Elon Musk and the efficiency of government over the past few weeks. Nonetheless, newly confirmed FBI director Kash Patel has shown that accusations against Baker-Hill are needed because of her federal position.
“This is part of the new FBI's new initiative to crack down on public corruption and bring Americans accountability,” Patel posted on X with a link to the press release. “Justice will be done.”
Editor's note: The article's headline has been revised to say “up to $6,300” because the exact amount that was allegedly misused is unknown.
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