Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
An Eastern Iowa woman has been sentenced to federal prison for defrauding over $25,000 in benefits meant for victims of the August 2020 derecho and the COVID-19 pandemic. Denisha Clarice Morrison, aged 28 from Marion, Iowa, was sentenced on June 27, 2025, following her guilty pleas on January 10, 2025, to theft of government funds and wire fraud.
The derecho struck multiple counties in Northern Iowa on August 10, 2020, causing extensive damage and power outages. In response, FEMA declared Disaster No. 4557 for Iowa on August 17, 2020. Morrison admitted to falsely claiming residence at a damaged apartment in Cedar Rapids to receive over $7,000 in FEMA benefits.
In addition to this fraud, Morrison filed a fraudulent application for a Paycheck Protection Program loan in June 2021. She falsely claimed ownership of a cleaning business and received $20,000 in PPP funds.
While awaiting trial for these charges, Morrison committed theft in Waterloo and violated pretrial release conditions by testing positive for illegal substances and failing to comply with employment and monitoring requirements. Her criminal history includes multiple state court convictions.
Morrison was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids to an 18-month prison term. She is required to pay $27,191.45 in restitution to FEMA and the SBA and will serve three years of supervised release post-imprisonment.
Currently held by the United States Marshal's custody pending transport to federal prison, the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek with investigation assistance from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.
