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| Nouel Alba pleaded guilty to running a Sandy Hook scam. Image: Shutterstock |
Within several days of the Sandy Hook tragedy in Newtown, CT, one woman saw the horror as an opportunity to raise money for a funeral
that did not actually exist. Nouel
Alba of New York used Facebook and other social media sites to claim that she
was raising money to cover costs for the funeral of Sandy Hook’s youngest
victim, Noah Pozner.
Alba claimed to be his aunt and likely chose the Pozner
family due to their high
profile media coverage. The Pozner
family had released several photos of their child to the press and
unfortunately made it easy for scammers like Alba to prey off of the
emotionally affected potential donors.
Noah Pozner was 6 years old, has a loving family, and is survived by a
twin sister.
Alba collected funds with her PayPal account
after claiming in emails to PTA members and others involved that she had
traveled to the scene of the crime to help identify the body. She was arrested less than two weeks later
for wire fraud and making false claims.
She entered her guilty plea this week, a change from her original plan
to go to trial.
While the amount of money
Alba collected was only $240, the F.B.I. said in a statement that Alba’s scam
was harmful to suffering families and to legitimate charities alike. Originally Alba claimed she was not involved
in the scam and that someone else was using her name. She now faces up to 25 years in prison and a
$50,000 fine. Sentencing will be in late
August, and those affected by the tragedy will be able to make statements that
could affect the severity of consequences.
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