A Florida woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing her mom’s identity in order to collect thousands of dollars in hurricane disaster relief, claiming to officials that her youthful looks were simply because of botox.
Veronica Torres, 44, from Bradenton, Manatee County, was charged on Friday with filing a false public assistance claim after she was granted almost $8,000 in relief through the City of Bradenton’s Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program, the Bradenton Police Department said in a statement.
Police said the 44-year-old claimed she was forced from her home due to damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton which both slammed into the Sunshine State within two weeks of one another.
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 along the Big Bend region, while Milton made landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane on October 9 near Siesta Key. Together, the deadly storms claimed dozens of lives and caused billions of dollars worth of damage across the Southeast US.
According to authorities, Torres applied for disaster relief following the storms using her mother’s drivers license and social security information.
Torres was granted $7,967 in assistance but, when she attempted to collect the funds, a city employee noticed she looked much younger than the woman in the identification, police said.
When questioned, she allegedly tried to claim that it was her “botox treatments” making her appear more youthful than her years. Her mom’s age has not been disclosed.
Torres’s explanation “failed to convince the employee,” authorities said, and she was asked to return the following day – during which time police were notified.
The 44-year-old was charged with the third-degree felony and released after posting a $2,500 bond on Saturday, jail records show.
The Independent has contacted the Bradenton Police Department and City of Bradenton’s Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program for more information.
After Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida in September, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had warned Floridians that thieves may try to “apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses and Social Security numbers they have stolen from people affected by the disaster.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also issued a warning to any fraudsters after Milton struck. “We said it before the first storm, and before the second storm, don’t even think about using those as an opportunity to take advantage of people who may be in dire straits,” he said at the time.
