As people in Los Angeles work to recover and rebuild, a new task force was named Thursday to fight crimes linked to the devastating wildfires.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that the Joint Regional Fire Crimes Task Force is made up of federal and local law enforcement agencies that will look into crimes connected to fires and bring to justice those who are trying to take advantage of the wildfire crisis.
The task group will pay attention to four things:
Crimes like theft, burglary, and impersonation
Crimes involving setting fires
Unlawful use of drones
Financial fraud aimed at crisis victims and people wanting to give money to charity
Following the wildfires, more than 50 people have been jailed for theft or looting crimes. Nine people have been charged so far, and they could spend anywhere from six years to life in jail.
For arson, the task force said it would “aggressively prosecute anyone who attempts to cause new fires by malice or reckless behavior.”
The federal law for arson calls for a minimum of five years in jail and a maximum of twenty years. If someone dies, those punishments can get worse and last a lifetime. California law says that someone who sets a fire can go to jail for up to nine years.
“Illegal drone activity in active fire zones has slowed down operations. In one case, a drone crashed into a fire suppression plane,” officials said.
It is still not possible to fly in the areas around the Palisades and Eaton fires until January 25. The FBI has set up tools to find drones flying in restricted places. One year in jail and a $75,000 fine are possible for people who break the law.
The Task Force will also be looking for people who are trying to scam or take advantage of fire victims or people who want to give to the recovery efforts.
Federal officials said that kind people all over the world are giving money to help the wounded. “Unfortunately, this makes scams easier because thieves use disasters to make money by sending fake requests or making websites that trick people.” Donors are asked to only give money to known organizations and not to send cash or wire transfers as gifts.
Laws against price gouging also went into effect. These say that no one or company can charge more than 10% more for housing, shelter, food, water, clothes, pet care, health care, or other essential goods or services.
People who break the law against price gouging could spend up to a year in jail and pay a $10,000 fine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says they could also face civil enforcement measures, such as up to $2,500 in fines for each violation, injunctive relief, and having to pay back what they borrowed.
The task force is made up of several groups, such as:
The office of the US attorney
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation
Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Investigations by Homeland Security
Police Department of Los Angeles
The sheriff’s office in Los Angeles County
The office of the district attorney for Los Angeles County
Office of the City Attorney in Los Angeles
Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s L.A. Field Office, said, “In addition to our work to fight fraud, we will give the task force resources to look into claims of arson, and we will not stand for careless and criminal drone operators who put firefighters and residents in danger.”
The DA for L.A. County, Nathan Hochman, said that his office “will relentlessly pursue and hold accountable those who despicably seek to use this tragedy for personal gain.” We want to send thieves a clear message: if you try to break the law during this crisis, we will arrest you, prosecute you, and try to punish you to the fullest extent of the law. This includes setting fires, stealing, burglarizing, price gouging, and financial scams.
People are asked to tell their local police about any crimes that happen because of wildfires. You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov/home to give the FBI information.
You can call 866-720-5721 or go to justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm to report financial theft to the National Center for Disaster theft.
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