MARION, N.C. — A McDowell County woman defrauded FEMA of more than $30,000 by falsely claiming her home was damaged by flooding from Helene, federal prosecutors said.
Peggy Cantrell, 40, of Marion, applied for disaster aid in February, saying the Beaver Creek Road property was her primary residence, even though family members say no one has lived there for more than a decade and that Cantrell was in prison when the hurricane hit, investigators said.
Channel 9’s Dave Faherty spoke with Cantrell’s stepmother who said no one has lived there for more than 10 years.
Cynthia Edwards still can’t believe her stepdaughter, claimed she lived on the property along Beaver Creek Road.
“When the hurricane hit, she was in prison and then she got out of prison in February,” Edwards said. “And I don’t know how she did it, but she did all that.”
Jeff Smith, a neighbor, said he was stunned by the allegations as many people continue to recover.
“I think they ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Smith said. “It’s not right. It’s not fair to all the people who did have all the damage.”
The U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said, “We will continue to bring to justice those who fraudulently used taxpayer money for personal gain because full recovery from Helene is going to take every available dollar.”
Edwards said she’ll never forget federal authorities showing up at her home to investigate her stepdaughter.
“The FBI showed up and was telling us about it and showing us paperwork on it, where she had signed names that she lived down there,” Edwards said.
Cantrell, at one point, said she owned the property and lived there for 25 years, also claiming that her personal documents got washed away during the storm, federal prosecutors said.
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