A woman who called Michelle Obama a "monkey" defrauded FEMA of $ 18,000

February 17, 2019, 23:16 GMT

By Janelle Griffith

The West Virginia woman who made headlines in the national press in 2016 after being put on vacation by a county development organization for a humiliating article on Facebook, about the first lady of the time, Michelle Obama has now pled guilty to defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency with thousands of dollars in disaster benefits.

Pamela Taylor, 57, admitted Tuesday that she had falsely registered for more than $ 18,000 in FEMA claims after the historic floods in Clay County, West Virginia, in June 2016, announced the US Attorney's Office in a statement. These floods killed 23 people.

Taylor claimed that her main residence had been damaged by floods and that she was living in a rental property, the prosecutor's office announced. However, her house was not damaged and she still lived there.

"The flood was a natural disaster," said US lawyer Mike Stuart in his release. "Flying FEMA is a disaster of human origin."

In her plea agreement, Taylor agreed to pay compensation of $ 18,149.04.

She faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 500,000 as a result of her May 30 conviction.

Taylor could not be contacted immediately for comment.

The name and residences of Taylor correspond to those of Pamela Taylor, who was fired from her position as director of the Clay County Development Corporation after the November 2016 Facebook posting, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail newspaper.

Taylor has published a controversial article about Obama after Donald Trump's election to the presidency: "It would be refreshing to be able to count on an elegant, beautiful and worthy First Lady of the White House. to see a monkey under the heels ".