I will never understand people who capitalize on other people's misery. It happens far too often: ambulance chasers and corrupt companies that pillage from people's desperation and lack of clear thinking seem to be in abundance. However, there is a special form of vulture that preys upon victims of natural disasters, and for me, this is beyond the pale. The latest rash of this: the victims of the California wildfires. Families who have lost everything and seek assistance are discovering that they have not only lost their identity, but someone else collected the funds they desperately needed to rebuild their lives.

A family who lost everything in the Palisades Fire is now battling another kind of trauma after thieves stole their identities and filed a claim with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Los Angeles Times reported.  

Judy Zweig’s husband, Stefan, learned about the theft on Jan. 20 while sitting down with a FEMA officer to register for assistance after losing the home they lived in for 30 years, the place they raised their children.  

He was informed that someone had already used their identities to register for assistance, though they used a different email address and phone number.  

The couple was then forced to file a claim with the agency stating they were victims of identity theft.  

We know how well that works out, especially with FEMA. In other words, it doesn't. The Zweig's address was locked until FEMA could "resolve their case." Given the condition that FEMA is in right now, sadly, this will probably be the 12th of Never. In the meantime, the Zweigs and others have been left without options.

Hoping that would at least allow their claim to move forward, Judy took a day off her job as a dental hygienist and went back to the disaster relief center only to learn that their address had been “locked up” until FEMA could resolve their case. Unfortunately, it also meant the Zweigs would not have access to the much needed assistance.

According to the Los Angeles Times, this is a larger problem; what contributes to the ease for those who seek to commit fraud? Victims' ability to apply for FEMA assistance online. Easy is not always best.

“The FEMA officer who was trying to do my intake said he had seen five cases of fraud,” Judy Zweig said. “This is a rampant problem that FEMA has, and part of it is because you’re allowed to sign up online, and people who want to commit fraud are getting benefits that people like us so desperately need.”

Although statistics on FEMA-specific fraud cases were unavailable, agency spokesperson Brandi Richard Thompson said it’s not uncommon for stolen-identity cases and fraud to take place after a natural disaster. She didn’t have information on whether there had been an increase in fraud cases with the Los Angeles County wildfires compared with other disasters.

Shades of the COVID unemployment fraud, where California was left holding the bag for $32 billion and then passed it on to its small businesses. Elected officials and leftist NGOs are caterwauling over DOGE and Elon Musk having access to "our most sensitive data," when all identity thieves have to do is pay money to purchase names, addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers on the dark web and do their thing. It seems that anything that the government is involved in is ripe for fraud and mismanagement, and this is yet another glaring and tragic example.

Anyone who takes advantage and doubly violates victims should face federal and state penalties and, once convicted, be put under the jail. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman seems serious about enforcing the laws to their fullest extent, so there is some hope that these evil actors will be found and prosecuted. FEMA and the Department of Justice are both hot messes and look to get messier as President Donald Trump and hopefully (once confirmed) Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel clean house. But anyone who has been victimized by this fraud is probably wise to look elsewhere for recourse and mount a crowdfunding account.