BRADENTON, Fla. – A Bradenton woman’s attempt to cash in on hurricane relief funds backfired spectacularly, landing her in jail instead of the bank.
44-year-old Veronica Torres was arrested on Friday and charged with filing a false public assistance claim, a third-degree felony. Her scheme involved using her mother’s identity to apply for the City of Bradenton’s Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program.
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According to the Bradenton Police Department, Torres falsely claimed that hurricane damage forced her out of her home and requested nearly $8,000 in assistance. Her application was initially approved, but her plan unraveled when she tried to pick up the check.
A city employee noticed that Torres looked significantly younger than the woman pictured on the identification provided with the application. Torres’s excuse? Botox treatments. Unconvinced, the employee asked Torres to return the following day, and promptly alerted the Bradenton Police Department.
When Torres returned on Friday, she was met by detectives who quickly uncovered her fraudulent scheme. She was arrested and is now facing felony charges for her attempt to deceive the system.
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