North Carolina Woman Charged with False Oil Spill Claim

Federal prosecutors have charged a North Carolina woman with filing fraudulent claims for relief from the BP oil spill by stealing the identity of her dead sister.

Authorities say Charlette D. Johnson submitted a claim for more than $15,000 in lost wages under the name of her sister, a 44-year-old Phenix City, Ala. woman who died in May.

Johnson claimed she lost her job at the P&J Oyster Company in New Orleans.

The indictment handed up in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina claims Johnson filed at least 12 fraudulent claims for more than $76,000 between 2005 and 2009. Johnson faces six counts of filing fraudulent claims, eight counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Johnson’s attorney declined comment.