ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A man was federally indicted on charges after falsely claiming his home was damaged by Hurricane Helene, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson, announced.
A federal grand jury in Asheville indicted Christian Michael Hall, 49, of Drexel, N.C., on charges of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to the press release.
On or about Sept. 30, 2024, Hall filed for a disaster application with FEMA seeking benefits for a home in Valdese that was damaged by Helene, according to the indictment. Hall claimed the Valdese property was his primary residence, even though he did not own, rent or live there.
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As a result of the false application, Hall received about $20,932.14 in FEMA benefits, according to the indictment.
Hall was charged…
Cyber fraud uses technology as the primary weapon. It is highly scalable and can be conducted from anywhere in the world.
- Phishing/Smishing/Vishing: Using deceptive emails (phishing), text messages (smishing), or phone calls (vishing) to trick victims into clicking malicious links or revealing sensitive data.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC): A high-value scam where a criminal impersonates a CEO or high-level executive via a “spoofed” email address to trick a staff member into making an urgent, unauthorized wire transfer.
