You may remember that literally within an hour of the Sandy Hook shooting, Nouel Alba, a woman from the Bronx, took to Facebook posing as the aunt of one of the victims, Noah Pozner. She later set up a PayPal account and asked for donations. After being busted on national television not once, but twice (first by CNN, then by NBC), the FBI got in touch with Alba. She kept up her lies to them, and was brought up on federal charges of lying to agents. A month later, she was also charged with wire fraud. Well, the lies ended on Thursday in Bridgeport, when Alba pleaded guilty.
The day of the shooting, Alba set up a Facebook page claiming to be the aunt of 6-year-old shooting victim Noah Pozner. The next day she started collecting money, she said, to help pay for Pozner's funeral expenses, according to prosecutors. One day later, Alba sent an email to the Sandy Hook PTA asking for donations.
The day of the shooting, Alba set up a Facebook page claiming to be the aunt of 6-year-old shooting victim Noah Pozner. The next day she started collecting money, she said, to help pay for Pozner's funeral expenses, according to prosecutors. One day later, Alba sent an email to the Sandy Hook PTA asking for donations.
Alba was indicted in May.
On Thursday, Alba admitted she is not related to Pozner and admitted to the scheme. She accepted a plea deal that could give her up to six months in jail if the federal prosecutors don't ask for a longer sentence. The charges of wire fraud and making a false statement carry a maximum of 25 years in prison.
This was probably the first smart thing Alba did in this case. Even though she only wrangled $240 out of her marks (
according to CNN), it would have been suicidal for her to let this go to trial. About the only chance she would have had would have been if her lawyer had been able to keep all parents and grandparents off the jury.
Alba is slated to be sentenced on August 29. To my mind, anything less than two years in prison would be a bad joke. And she's not out of the woods yet. According to the Hartford Courant,, back in May the Bronx DA brought her up on state charges of scheme to defraud and identity theft. Alba's federal plea deal has no standing regarding the state charges, which are still pending. If convicted on the state charges, Alba could get up to eight years in prison.