SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Brittany Aulden Barnes, 24, of Joplin, Missouri, is headed to federal prison after admitting to a brazen scheme to exploit the devastation of the 2011 Joplin tornado and a separate string of identity thefts. U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool sentenced Barnes to two years and four months without parole, a punishment handed down for one count of disaster fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The 2011 Joplin tornado, a catastrophe that claimed 158 lives and racked up over $2.9 billion in damage, became a target for Barnes’s greed. She fraudulently claimed her Joplin apartment was damaged, securing $6,708 in disaster relief from FEMA. But the lie didn’t stop there. Barnes then illegally occupied a FEMA-provided mobile home for over a year – from September 2011 to December 2012 – costing the agency an additional $12,066. The kicker? Barnes hadn’t even lived in the apartment when the tornado hit; she and her boyfriend, Russell Lamar Green, had already moved out. Green, too, faced federal charges and sentencing for his own attempt to defraud FEMA.
But the FEMA fraud was just one facet of Barnes’s criminal behavior. In May 2013, while employed at an Applebee’s in Joplin, she pilfered a co-worker’s wallet, making off with their Missouri driver’s license, Social Security card, debit card, and three credit cards. Barnes didn’t just steal the information; she actively used it, impersonating the victim on multiple occasions. This included purchasing a $269 Sony Playstation game console at Best Buy with a counterfeit check drawn on another victim’s account.
The brazenness continued. Barnes cashed three counterfeit $598 payroll checks – again drawn on the bank accounts of different victims – at two Wal-Mart stores. The total restitution ordered by the court reflects the scope of her deception: $18,774 to FEMA and $2,094 to her identity theft victims. It’s a hefty price, but hardly compensates for the emotional and financial fallout of her crimes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich prosecuted the case, with a collaborative investigation led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the Joplin Police Department. The combined effort brought Barnes’s scheme to light and secured a conviction. This case serves as a stark reminder that exploiting disaster relief efforts and stealing identities are serious federal offenses with significant consequences.
If you have information regarding disaster fraud related to the Joplin tornado, authorities urge you to contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721, the Joplin Police Department at 417-623-3131, or the FBI’s Joplin office at 417-206-5700. Your tip could help prevent others from becoming victims of similar schemes.
Related Federal Cases
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime