Nouel Alba, a 37-year-old Bronx woman who posed as an aunt of a Sandy Hook victim, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and to lying to FBI agents, federal prosecutors in Connecticut said, as reported by CNN. Alba reportedly solicited donations on behalf of one of the young victims, Noah Pozner, in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.
Alba, is eligible for fines totaling $500,000 and could receive a 25-year prison sentence for the scam, according to the U.S. Attorney's officer. Alba entered the plea in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Prosecutors said that Alba set up false bank accounts and claimed she was collecting for a "federal fund" set up on behalf of one of the 20 children killed in the attack. Donations were solicited on a Facebook page, with donors sending $240 to a pay pal account between December 14 and 20.
A relative of the Pozner family notified CNN of the scam five months ago, which linked her personal banking information with the paypal account set up. Alba denied involvement in the scam at the time, puhlicly lying to TV audiences, and then to FBI agents, falsely accusing them that she did not post information related to Newtown on her Facebook account, nor any involvement in the scheme.
"The thought that someone would scheme so quickly and deliberately to benefit from an unspeakable tragedy is beyond belief," FBI Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Mertz said in a statement. "While there wasn't a substantial loss of money in this investigation, there were losses beyond any pecuniary measure."
Alba faces sentencing on August 29 in Hartford.
