Crime

Woman who called Michelle Obama ‘ape’ is sentenced for FEMA fraud

ROLLINGOUT — The West Virginia woman who famously disparaged former first lady Michelle Obama as an “ape in heels” on Facebook, has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of defrauding the U.S. government.

Published

6 years ago

June 12, 2019

Oakland Post

By Terry Shropshire

The West Virginia woman who famously disparaged former first lady Michelle Obama as an “ape in heels” on Facebook, has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of defrauding the U.S. government.

Pamela Taylor was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a $10K fine by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger, for filing a fake FEMA application and receiving significant relief funds. Taylor, 57, will also be subjected to three years of supervised release with the first two months being served on home confinement, wchstv.com reports.

Taylor has already paid $18K in restitution.

Taylor catapulted to the top of the national headlines back in 2016 when she infamously denigrated the wife of former President Barack Obama as “[an] ape in heels” when she served as the director of the Clay County Development Corporation. She was removed from that post shortly thereafter.

Later, during the historic flood that resulted from a hurricane that caused significant damage in West Virginia, Taylor applied for disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The claim was related to supposed flood damage to her home that allegedly forced her to live in a rental facility.

The Department of Homeland Security and the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations later discovered that Taylor’s home was untouched and that she lived in her house the entire time.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart stated in a news release. “Federal disaster benefits are critical to rebuilding infrastructure, homes and lives – not for lining the pockets of individuals who suffered no loss.”

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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June 7, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.