Worst Person In Mommyish History Fraudulently Collects Sandy Hook Victim Money

I refuse to ever make blanket statements about “losing faith in humanity” because I still believe that most people do the best they can, most of the time. But hearing about 37 year-old Nouel Alba from Bronx, New York who attempted to profit off the Sandy Hook shooting? I just, ugh.

From NBC Connecticut:

The day of the shooting, Alba set up a Facebook page claiming to be the aunt of 6-year-old shooting victim Noah Pozner. The next day she started collecting money, she said, to help pay for Pozner’s funeral expenses, according to prosecutors. One day later, Alba sent an email to the Sandy Hook PTA asking for donations.

 

On Thursday, Alba admitted she is not related to Pozner and admitted to the scheme. She accepted a plea deal that could give her up to six months in jail if the federal prosecutors don’t ask for a longer sentence. The charges of wire fraud and making a false statement carry a maximum of 25 years in prison.

So let me get this straight. When she heard on the news that someone had opened fire on a building full of children, her first instinct wasn’t to bawl her eyes out, but instead to set up a fake Facebook page to see if she could get money from strangers? Everyone was affected differently from the news of this tragedy — I understand not everyone is a sappy mess like me who falls apart when gun violence comes up in the news. But I think we can all pretty much agree that what Alba did was beyond reproachable.

I’m honestly wondering if she had some sort of mental illness, because it’s one (disgusting) thing to collect money from a country in mourning, and yet another to actually email the school’s PTA to ask for more money. It just seems bizarre that she would contact the school if she didn’t have any connection whatsoever to this child. Either way, there’s no mention of what happened to the money she collected. It would be wonderful if the court can find some way to recoup whatever money she did collect (or fine the shit out of her) and distribute it to the Newtown community — but I suppose spending 25 years behind bars would work, too.

(photo: Svetlana Lukienko / Shutterstock)