A San Francisco woman will face up to two years in prison for posing as a victim of last September’s San Bruno gas pipeline explosion in order to receive benefits.
San Mateo County District Atty. Steve Wagstaffe said Niesha Taylor, 26, was one of a dozen people charged with falsely claiming to be a blast victim for financial gain. All were charged with felonies. She is the sixth to be convicted.
“We heard the stories that came out of Hurricane Katrina and it offended everybody,” Wagstaffe said. “These were similar in taking advantage of people’s tragedy. From the beginning I said, ‘We have no sympathy, no lenience for these people,' and we’ve maintained that the whole way through.”
The Sept. 9, 2010, blast killed eight people, injured dozens and destroyed 38 homes.
According to prosecutors, Taylor and her boyfriend, Deonte Bennett, told staff at the benefits center that all their belongings in their rental unit were destroyed and that they needed replacements as well as new identification and other services.
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