GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey  announced Tuesday September 15, 2026, that Toni M. Fisher, 61, of Twin Lake, MI was sentenced to 6 months in prison after a jury convicted her of Major Disaster Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1040. During sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou said, this kind of crime “harms every taxpayer, but specifically those who have lost their primary home.”

In September 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Florida coast, causing significant property damage and displacing thousands of year-round residents. Fisher, a landlord with numerous rental properties in Muskegon County, filed a fraudulent application for disaster benefits from FEMA in which she claimed her vacation home in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, was her primary residence. In fact, she was living at her lakeside home in Twin Lake, Michigan, when the hurricane struck. As a result of the fraud, she received nearly $50,000 in cash, including money that was to be used for rent and emergency living expenses.

Fisher called FEMA repeatedly from Michigan to check on the status of her application. She falsely claimed she had missed a housing inspection in Fort Myers Beach because she was “out of town at [her] second residency” since her home was destroyed. Fisher was actually at home in Twin Lake and had just returned from a vacation in Aruba with $13,500 in cash on her person the day before she filed the application for FEMA assistance.

When Fisher was interviewed by federal agents, she denied claiming the beach house was her primary residence, and falsely suggested that she lived more than half of each year in Fort Myers Beach. She testified at trial, and repeated the same claims. Bank, airline, and casino records admitted at trial, however, established that she was a “snowbird” who only spent the winters in Florida.

U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said, “The FEMA program is an example of how generous  Americans are when disaster strikes, and we try to get financial help to our neighbors quickly.  But the availability of this money also attracts people who are willing to lie about being a victim in order to make an easy buck.  Toni Fisher revealed herself to be one of those people, and today she paid the price for it.  The public should know we are keeping a close eye on government program fraud and will not hesitate to bring serious criminal charges when we find it.”

The case was investigated by Special Agent Justin Efthemiou of the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS-OIG) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nils Kessler and Julia Rugg.