Oakland Man Faces Prison for Scamming Aid in Aftermath of Pipeline Explosion

Following the 2010 PG&E pipeline explosion, seven people were arrested on suspicion of fraud for falsely claiming to be a victim to receive benefits intended for residents of the Crestmoor neighborhood.

All except for one person pleaded guilty to the charges they faced.

Now, the last of the scammers, Deonte Bennett, 27, of Oakland will join many of the others behind bars after a San Mateo County Superior Court judge sentenced him on Friday to three years in prison for identity theft and perjury.

Bennett and a co-defendant, , were arrested shortly after the Sept. 9, 2010, fire for going to a temporary assistance center and applying for benefits, claiming their property had been destroyed in the blast. The fire destroyed 38 homes and left eight people dead, and many more people in the neighborhood were affected.

Taylor pleaded no contest in September 2011 to falsely claiming to be a victim and was sentenced to nine months in jail.

Here is what happened to the rest of the people charged with scamming aid bound for survivors:

, both of San Bruno, pleaded no contest to commercial burglary and perjury. They were sentenced to a combined 700 hours of community services and three years of supervised probation.

San Francisco resident pleaded guilty to one count of commercial burglary and was sentenced to three years of probation and 30 days in county jail.

, also of San Francisco, pleaded no contest to four felony charges and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Los Altos resident —who was described as the worst offender of them all for fraudulently using the relief aid to get gift cards, spend 13 nights in two hotels and get a rental car—was sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe  and promised to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

With Bennett now behind bars, Wagstaffe's promise has been kept.

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