A Texas woman who lied her way into a custom-built seven-bedroom home worth $435,000 with Hurricane Harvey relief money — then threatened to kill a witness and assaulted a federal agent — has been sentenced to 71 months in federal prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas (U.S. Department of Justice)
Sharai Poteet, 56, of Porter, in the Houston area, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt and ordered to pay $537,209 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She was taken into custody immediately and will also serve three years of supervised release after her prison term.
A Fake Household of 11 — and the Largest Home the Program Ever Built
Prosecutors said that from 2019 through 2024, Poteet ran a scheme to fraudulently obtain disaster-relief housing assistance and other federal benefits in the years after Hurricane Harvey. She falsely claimed that 11 people — including seven children and a disabled adult — were members of her household. Those fraudulent applications secured her a newly built, seven-bedroom home valued at $435,000 through a HUD program intended to help Hurricane Harvey victims. At the time, it was the largest home the program had built, according to the Justice Department.
Investigators also uncovered five fraudulent FEMA disaster assistance applications tied to storms between 2017 and 2024. Evidence presented at sentencing included an internet search found on her devices: “what is the punishment for lying to FEMA.” Shortly afterward, prosecutors said, Poteet submitted a fraudulent application for hurricane disaster relief.
Threats, an Assault on an Agent, and Forgeries After Charges
As authorities investigated, Poteet threatened to kill a whistleblower in an attempt to silence them, and assaulted a federal agent while attempting to flee during an operation to seize her cellphone, prosecutors said. At sentencing, the court heard testimony about the emotional toll her threats took on the witness and the witness's family, along with evidence that Poteet committed forgeries after she had already been charged.
Poteet had pleaded guilty on June 1 to four federal offences: wire fraud, fraud in connection with a major disaster, threatening to kill a witness, and assaulting or impeding a law enforcement officer. Judge Hoyt cited her “complete disregard” for those harmed by her actions, including family members she placed at risk of prosecution.
“Sharai Poteet exploited programs intended to assist vulnerable hurricane victims and used those funds for her own personal enrichment,” said U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz. “When individuals steal taxpayer-funded resources meant to help those in need, they are not just committing fraud — they are undermining the systems that keep families safe and communities stable.” HUD Deputy Secretary Andrew Hughes said: “Despite her attempts to evade the law, Sharai Poteet is finally being held accountable for abusing HUD disaster relief funds, lying to obtain a newly built home valued at nearly half a million dollars, and stealing from those who lost everything in Hurricane Harvey.”
Background: The Storm That Created the Relief Programs
Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast near Rockport on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, then stalled over the Houston area for four days, unleashing catastrophic flooding across southeastern Texas. Harvey caused an estimated $125 billion in damage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and FEMA reported providing more than $1.6 billion in grants to over 373,000 Texas individuals and households. It was money from those recovery programs — meant for families who had lost their homes — that Poteet diverted to herself over the following seven years.
Disaster-relief fraud cases decide how strictly agencies like FEMA and HUD police every later application — including honest ones from immigrant families rebuilding after a storm. Houston is one of the largest Punjabi diaspora hubs in Texas, and diaspora families who apply for federal help after hurricanes and floods deal with the tighter checks that fraud on this scale brings.
What Happens Next
Poteet is now in federal custody to serve the 71-month sentence; there is no parole in the federal prison system, and her three years of supervised release begin only after the prison term ends. The $537,209 restitution order to HUD and FEMA stands alongside the sentence. The Justice Department has not announced any further defendants in the scheme.