Woman who called Michelle Obama ‘ape’ is sentenced for FEMA fraud

By Terry Shropshire

The West Virginia woman who famously disparaged former first lady Michelle Obama as an “ape in heels” on Facebook, has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of defrauding the U.S. government.

Pamela Taylor was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a $10K fine by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger, for filing a fake FEMA application and receiving significant relief funds. Taylor, 57, will also be subjected to three years of supervised release with the first two months being served on home confinement, wchstv.com reports.

Taylor has already paid $18K in restitution.

Taylor catapulted to the top of the national headlines back in 2016 when she infamously denigrated the wife of former President Barack Obama as “[an] ape in heels” when she served as the director of the Clay County Development Corporation. She was removed from that post shortly thereafter.

Later, during the historic flood that resulted from a hurricane that caused significant damage in West Virginia, Taylor applied for disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The claim was related to supposed flood damage to her home that allegedly forced her to live in a rental facility.

The Department of Homeland Security and the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations later discovered that Taylor’s home was untouched and that she lived in her house the entire time.

“There’s no such thing as a little bit of FEMA fraud. Taylor’s fraudulent scheme took FEMA dollars away from those who needed it the most,” U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart stated in a news release. “Federal disaster benefits are critical to rebuilding infrastructure, homes and lives – not for lining the pockets of individuals who suffered no loss.”