Daylyn Harris, 35, from Honolulu, was sentenced on Friday, June 5, to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, over “conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with false claims he submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA,” per an announcement today by U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.
The announcement notes that Harris was charged with and pled guilty to obstruction of justice for submitting "fabricated flight records to the court to refute allegations that he had violated his conditions of pretrial release."
Harris, who sought disaster relief related to the Lahaina and Pacific Palisades in California wildfires, was ordered to pay $60,458 in restitution to FEMA.
According to court records, Harris and co-defendant Chelsea Johnson, 32, who was previously sentenced to four months in prison (followed by three years of supervised release), “claimed lost income, housing and property even though they did not live in the disaster area or suffer those losses,” per the announcement, which notes that Johnson posed as Harris’s Maui landlord. Prosecutors said Johnson also submitted her own false claim.
The pair received more than $60,000 in total in FEMA disaster relief.
“At a time when federal resources were desperately needed by victims of the Lahaina and Pacific Palisades wildfires, Harris stole from the public to satisfy his own greed,” Sorenson stated Monday. “Preventing, investigating and prosecuting the theft and fraudulent diversion of disaster relief funds is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and those who seek to profit through fraud off of the devastation and hardship of our neighbors will face swift and certain justice in federal court.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Office of the Inspector General.
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
