HOUSTON – Prosecutors say a woman pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to set up fake applications for disaster relief funds.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, from March 2020 through June 2021, Khalia Douglas, 26, and others sent fake applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Small Business Administration (SBA), the U.S. government and a bank for financial assistance.
Recommended Videos
RELATED: Houston man exploits Hurricane Harvey funds, recieves newly built home worth over $300K
The Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation along with the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Court records also claim Douglas also promoted her involvement on Instagram under her account @GoGettaKaee, where she posted several stories advertising her involvement in filing fake applications. Some of the posts prosecutors said flat out incriminated her with captions saying: “SBA is back open. $350 for method. Yes, I’m doing applications $100 upfront & $2k when your money hits. You’ll need a real bank account.”
The 26-year-old also accepted payments for her services through apps like CashApp and submitted fake applications for herself as well. In fact, prosecutors said Douglas filed eight FEMA disaster assistance applications related to Hurricane Laura alone.
SEE ALSO: Top 5 most outrageous Houston water bills the KPRC 2 ‘DRAINED’ investigation helped resolve
It wasn’t just disaster relief fraud Douglas was committing. Investigators said they also found she’d filed fake unemployment benefits in Kansas, using another person’s name to rent her apartment and another person’s bank account to deposit counterfeit checks.
Her actions caused the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the bank to lose a total of $351,007 with an attempted loss of $514,415. Douglas received about $23,775 for her services.
Douglas is facing five years in federal prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000. She is expected to show up for sentencing on September 26. During that time, Douglas will remain on bond pending her sentencing.