HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A New York woman who posed as the aunt of a Sandy Hook student to collect donations has been sentenced to eight months in prison, court officials said.
Nouel Alba, a 37-year-old Bronx mother, pleaded guilty to fraud and lying to the FBI before being sentenced Tuesday, The Hartford Courant reported.
On the day of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, Alba joined the online discussions about the shootings.
She claimed she was raising money for the funeral of Noah Pozner, 6, one of the 26 victims of Adam Lanza.
Alba stole only $250 and returned it after Internet users and news stations discovered the hoax.
She initially told the FBI that computer hackers had stolen her Internet identification, the Courant reported.
Federal court guidelines call for a possible six-month sentence but the judge said Alba's actions, which had the potential to inflict emotional trauma on the families of the Sandy Hook victims, justified a longer sentence.
