Petaluma man sentenced for disaster relief fraud in Tubbs fire; feds say he used money to visit Disneyland

A Petaluma resident was sentenced to nine months in jail and ordered to pay $27,489.96 in restitution for falsely claiming his home was destroyed in the devastating Tubbs fire of 2017, court records show.

Justin Daly, 41, was sentenced July 22 by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, according to court records.

Prosecutors say that after falsely claiming his home was one of more than 5,600 structures claimed by the Sonoma County fire, Daly spent the disaster aid funds he received taking a family vacation to Disneyland and renting a room at a waterfront hotel in Bodega Bay.

Daly was charged in late 2019. He pleaded guilty to disaster benefits fraud and making false statements to a government agency in March.

Daly's lawyer blamed the offense on an addiction to methamphetamine but said in a sentencing brief he is turning his life around.

"From October 2020 to February 2021, Mr. Daly completed a 90-day residential drug treatment program at the New Bridge Foundation," Daly's attorney, Niall E. Lynch, wrote in court filings. "Since he left, he has worked hard to maintain his sobriety, created a supportive and loving family life with his fiancée and children, and been an active member of the New Bridge aftercare program, encouraging others to stay sober and keep working."

Prosecutors asked for an 18-month prison term, writing that Daly planned and carried out his crime over several months.

"This crime was not a momentary lapse while in a state of intoxication ... Even with a severe addiction, Mr. Daly could not have smoked anywhere near that much meth," assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rubino wrote in court records.

Daly will be on supervised release for three years after his jail term is over.