Woman Who Claimed to Be Fire Victim Pleads No Contest to Fraud

One year after the deadly Sept. 9 gas pipeline explosion in the Crestmoor neighborhood, a woman who went to the disaster area and falsely claimed to be a victim pleaded no contest to identity theft and other charges in San Mateo County Superior Court.

Niesha Taylor, 26, of San Francisco pleaded no contest on Friday to one felony count each of second-degree burglary, identity theft and providing a false or forged document, according to the district attorney's office.

Prosecutors said that Taylor and a second suspect, , 26, of Oakland, went to a temporary disaster center five days after the Sept. 9, 2010, explosion in the Crestmoor neighborhood and applied for benefits, claiming their property had been destroyed in the blast.

The pair went to a DMV assistance table and forged documents to get new identification, signing forms under penalty of perjury that they had lived in the burned neighborhood, prosecutors said.

When DMV workers suspected fraud and notified police, the pair allegedly lied to investigators, saying their property was in a house they rented but could not say who the owner was, according to the district attorney's office.

The two were arrested and booked on various burglary and perjury-related charges.

Bennett, who is out of custody on $50,000 bail, is scheduled to appear in court for the setting of a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.

Taylor was among seven people arrested on suspicion of fraud in the aftermath of the blast that left eight people dead and 38 homes consumed in the fire.

Co-defendants , both of San Bruno, who pleaded no contest to felony charges of commercial burglary and perjury in January, were credited with time served and sentenced to probation and community service.

, 23, of San Francisco was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation after pleaded guilty to one count of commercial burglary at her preliminary hearing in January.

, 46, of San Francisco was sentenced to one year in county jail earlier this month after pleading guilty to four fraud-related felonies.

, 41, of Los Altos was sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison after pleading guilty to four fraud charges. After visiting a local assistance center twice, Stansbury received $2,000 in gift cards and benefits, including 13 nights at the San Francisco Airport and San Jose Hiltons, plus a rental car for the entire period.

Taylor faces up to two years in prison when she is sentenced on Nov. 9.

Bay City News contributed to this story.