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JUST IN: Kash Patel's FBI Charges High-Ranking CBP Official in FEMA Fraud Scheme Scandal
"Following efforts with our interagency partners, I can report that a career Director level employee at US Customs and Border Protection has been charged with allegedly attempting to defraud FEMA, as well as lying to federal agents," Patel wrote.
He continued, "This is part of the new FBI's renewed efforts to crack down on public corruption and deliver accountability for the American people. Justice will be done."
A career Director-level employee at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been slapped with federal charges for allegedly scamming the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and lying to federal agents.
Serina Baker-Hill, 55, a Detroit-based CBP bigwig overseeing the Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering, thought she could pull a fast one on hardworking American taxpayers, according to the press release.
According to a freshly unsealed federal complaint, Baker-Hill exploited a federal disaster declaration after floods hit Michigan in August 2023. She applied for FEMA aid, claiming her basement was damaged and that she couldn't live in her home while repairs were underway.
FEMA, trusting her word, handed over cash for home repairs and two months of rental assistance to cover temporary housing costs.
However, she didn't use a dime of that money for rent, hotels, or utilities.
Bank records expose her scheme—she pocketed the funds while cozying up in her supposedly "unlivable" home.
Video surveillance even caught her and her husband living there like nothing was wrong, and utility records show no drop-off consistent with an empty house.
When questioned by federal agents from the FBI and CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Baker-Hill maintained her innocence, asserting she had never committed fraud or any illegal activity against the government.
The FBI's Detroit Border Corruption Task Force, CBP-OPR, and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General jointly conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton P. Brown is prosecuting the case.