The leadership of FEMA’s Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office is under intense scrutiny as questions mount over how top officials handled their own disaster claims and if billions in aid is going to those who necessitate it most.
SANTA FE, N.M. – The leadership of FEMA’s Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office is under intense scrutiny as questions mount over how top officials handled their own disaster claims and if billions in aid is going to those who need it most.
Director Jay Mitchell faces calls for resignation after 4 Investigates revealed that he expedited more than $524,000 in payments to his own family. Now, attention is shifting to Deputy Director Jennifer Carbajal, who also received a 6-figure payout that mirrors Mitchell’s claim.
Sources and leaked documents provided to 4 Investigates indicate that Carbajal, described as Mitchell’s right hand, filed a claim for “business interruption.” Records show her company, MAIA Consulting LLC, reported losses from the fire and subsequent flooding.
It’s not clear from the documents what MAIA Consulting did. An anonymous whistleblower with knowledge of operations at the Claims Office said Carbajal apparently operated her business, “out of the home and it was online, and it was maybe a coaching business or something like that.”
Documents show Maia Consulting was registered out of Carbajal’s home in Rio Rancho. According to documents, Carbajal was the sole employee, and it ceased activity months after the fire.
Documents show Carbajal used an address within the burn scar in Pendaries, New Mexico, where she lived at the time with her wife, Jennifer Sanchez.
Sanchez was known in the area as a staffer for Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández.
Sanchez talked with 4 Investigates on the phone and explained they purchased the house from her parents but chose to primarily live in Las Vegas during the 2022 wildfire.
Sanchez said she had no knowledge of Carbajal operating a business then but was aware of the smoke and ash claim they filed for their house after they divorced in 2024.
They accepted and split a smoke and ash claim for their three story, 7,700-square-foot house totaling $267,651.
Carbajal accepted 45% of the claim, more than $120,000.
A spokesperson for Rep. Leger Fernández confirmed Sanchez quit working for the congresswoman at the finish of 2023 and said they had no knowledge of the claim she filed after her employment.
Carbajal then received payment of $26,976 for the “business interruptions” MAIA Consulting suffered during the fire and subsequent floods.
Two sources said Carbajal used her position of power to influence her own claim. One said, “she asked for the best navigator.” The other said it was, “worked in unison,” with Director Mitchell’s claims.
Carbajal did not respond to our calls or emails.
The FEMA Claims Office did not respond to our questions.
By the numbers
- Director Jay Mitchell’s family was paid more than $524,000 for smoke and ash, and business interruptions, documents show.
- Deputy Director Jennifer Carbajal was paid more than $146,000 for smoke and ash, and business interruptions, documents show.
- FEMA Claims Office said it’s paid $2.53B to individuals and households and $600.54M to businesses, but has not said how much of that money has been for smoke and ash claims
The bottom line
The six-figure payouts to the director and deputy director of the Claims Office highlight how top officials personally benefited from a government-caused disaster, whereas many New Mexicans are still waiting for relief and fear that time and funds may run out.
MORE:
