A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official in Detroit was charged Wednesday with orchestrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $6,300 in disaster aid and lying to federal agents, a case unsealed as prosecutors charged her husband in connection with an alleged drug conspiracy.
Serina Baker-Hill, 55, of Detroit, director of the agency’s Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering, was arrested and released on $10,000 unsecured bond following an initial appearance Wednesday in federal court in Detroit. She is charged with three crimes: wire fraud, lying and fraud in connection with a major disaster, charges that could send her to federal prison for 20 years or longer. Her lawyer, Amanda Bashi, could not be reached for comment immediately Wednesday.
The corruption case against Baker-Hill grew out of a drug conspiracy investigation targeting her husband, 56-year-old Maurice Hill. During the drug probe, the FBI obtained a wiretap and learned Baker-Hill and her husband were engaged in an alleged fraud involving disaster aid, FBI Special Agent Andrew Matas wrote in an affidavit filed in federal court.
The criminal case against Baker-Hill dates to August 2023 after a series of floods in Metro Detroit prompted residents to apply for federal disaster aid. Baker-Hill applied for assistance and a Federal Emergency Management Agency inspector determined there was flood damage in the basement of her home, prosecutors said.
Baker-Hill received $6,315 to fix the damage and for two months of rental assistance because she claimed the home was unlivable, the government alleged.
