Woman who called Michelle Obama 'ape in heels' jailed for embezzlement after lying about 'flooded' apartment
Pamela Ramsey Taylor had made headlines in 2016 when she made racist remarks about the former First Lady Michelle Obama and is now going to jail for embezzlement.
57-year-old Taylor had falsely registered for FEMA benefits which were meant for those people who had been affected by the June 2016 floods which claimed the lives of 20 people along the Elk River. The former charity director had managed to take around $18000 in false claims, the court documents have revealed.
On Friday, Taylor was sentenced to 10 months in prison for the embezzlement scheme after she had admitted to misappropriating the cash after she had falsely claimed that she was forced to leave her "flooded" home in Clay County and move into a rental unit. According to a news release from US Attorney Mike Stuart's office, Taylor had claimed that her primary residence was damaged in the flood.
In her plea deal, she had explained how she had registered with FEMA in July 2016 while she was at Clay County High School. She told FEMA that her primary address was on Main Street and her permanent house was damaged. However, she actually lived in Bickmore which was not damaged or impacted by the flooding.
At the time of the flooding, Taylor nor her husband were living at the property. She had also told the authorities that her work address for the Clay County Development Corporation was her primary address. As per her plea deal, she was asked to pay $18,149.04 as restitution as well as a $10,000 fine. Attorney Mike Stuart shared, "There’s no such thing as a little bit of FEMA fraud. Taylor’s fraudulent scheme took FEMA dollars away from those who needed it the most."
Taylor had made headlines in 2016 when she made a racist remark about former First Lady Michelle Obama and compared her to an "ape". Post Donald Trump's election, Taylor had written, "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a [sic] Ape in heels." As a result, she was fired as Clay County Development Corp. director.
Post the incident, she issued a very half-hearted apology to "any one individual that took offense to my post" and tried to justify the comment by claiming that she was "entitled to my own opinion, as afforded under the Constitution of the United States; as well as every citizen of this country."
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