A West Virginia woman who came under fire for a 2016 Facebook post disparaging then-first lady Michelle Obama has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency out of thousands of dollars of disaster benefits.
Pamela Taylor, 57, admitted last week to falsely registering for more than $18,000 in FEMA disaster benefits after historic flooding in Clay County, West Virginia, nearly three years ago that killed 23 people, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
Taylor claimed that her primary residence was damaged in the flood and that she was staying in a rental property, the prosecutor’s office said. However, investigators found that her home was not damaged and she still lived there, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
She faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 when she is sentenced May 30.
Taylor is apparently the same woman who wrote in a Facebook post after Donald Trump’s election in November 2016, “It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I’m tired of seeing a Ape in heels.”
The post drew national attention when the Clay County Mayor Beverly Whaling responded, “Just made my day Pam.” After intense backlash, the mayor resigned and Taylor was placed on leave from her position as director of the Clay County Development Corporation.
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