A worker for the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been charged with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the department in charge of helping Americans during disasters. Sheila Ann Howard, of Capitol Heights, a 20-year employee of FEMA’s human resources department, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty, prosecutors said.
Howard, 54, had her first appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on Friday and was released under the supervision of pretrial services.
Howard could not be reached for comment.
According to charging documents:
Howard worked at the office in Southwest Washington and processed special payroll payments, such as cash rewards, bonuses and restored annual leave. From December 2009 until last month, Howard processed fraudulent payments, totaling $150,000, in the names of former FEMA employees and one current employee.
Each of the payments was deposed in one of four bank accounts that Howard controlled.
Howard’s actions came to light in October 2009, prosecutors said, when a former employee with the initials R.P. who had retired from FEMA stated she received an Internal Revenue Service form stating she received $9,600 in wages.
Authorities found that five months later, a payment was processed through Howard’s office and deposited into a prepaid card account, charging documents said. The primary account holder listed on the account was Sheila Howard, and the secondary account holder was R.P.
R.P. told authorities that she had no knowledge that this account existed, prosecutors said. The address and the phone number on the account listed Howard’s home address and her phone number, and the prepaid card was sent to her Capitol Heights residence, prosecutors said.
Investigators then reviewed all payments processed by Howard and found more fraudulent activity, prosecutors said.
Over 15 months, Howard processed 23 fraudulent payments in the names of 16 former FEMA employees and three in the names of a current employee, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement officials contacted seven of the former employees, and all said they never received any payments and did not use the bank accounts to which the deposits were made, prosecutors said.
