SEATTLE – Two Port Orchard sisters are warning flood-devastated home and business owners about a suspected con-artist.

They say a fake FEMA agent took aim at their home and dance studio the day after they filed for financial help.

The sisters' dance studio had only been in its new space two months when floodwater nearly destroyed their dream. Little did they know a con-artist would seep in and try to take even more.

KING

The sisters' dance studio had only been in its new space two months when floodwater nearly destroyed their dream.

Rain-slicked streets bring painful memories gushing back for sisters Kara Morkert and Erin Brinkerhoff. The December flash flood hit the Gallery School & Music & Dance hard, saturating newly renovated floors with several inches of water and more than $40,000 in damage.

Help appeared to be on its way when Kara got a call from a so-called FEMA agent just a day after she filed for federal aid.

"[He said] that he was a FEMA rep and he listed only his first name. It was funny to me because he was calling from a Super 8 Motel," said Kara.

And it got downright strange when "Gregory" turned aggressive, calling twice more and showing up a the dance studio.

"He actually came to the school on Saturday and said it was a one-time shot that he had to speak with the owners. If they didn't make that happen he was very busy and he wouldn't be able to come around again," she recalled.

The boldest red flag came when Gregory demanded to inspect Morkert's home, which was unaffected by the storm.

"He'd said many times that FEMA had recently changed policies and that we should put up with the 'crazy way our government does business.' That's exactly what he said," said Kara.

When Kara and her husband refused the inspection, Gregory backed off and he hasn't called or stopped by since. She suspects he was trying to dig up personal information disaster victims are eager to give up to get real help.

"Bank account information, routing numbers, personal financial information, social security numbers…" she said.

Kara and her sister shared none of that and are hoping no one else did.

Kitsap emergency officials say FEMA personnel should be able to show ID, give full names and a cell phone number.

"This is the season of peace and joy and we've just been through a major disaster in many Western Washington counties, and we want to help people and this is not helping," said Susan May, Kitsap County Emergency Management.

The fake FEMA agent who called himself Gregory is described as a man in his 40's, about 5-foot-10, medium build, tan, with bleach-blond hair, conservatively dressed.

To date, this fake FEMA agent case is the only of its kind reported in Kitsap County.

More crisis counselor approved

The Department of Social and Health Services has begun the process of beefing up the ranks of crisis counselors and outreach workers who can assist residents of Western Washington whose lives were seriously impacted by the flooding and windstorm which struck Western Washington in early December.

The agency received approval on Thursday for federal grant funding that will pay for more than 40 disaster-outreach workers who will be available in Lewis, Grays Harbor, Thurston, Mason and Pacific counties as well as the Quinault Indian Reservation on the western side of the Olympic Peninsula.

The counselors, who will be hired and trained by a handful of area agencies under contract with the state, will provide emotional support, direct flood victims to needed services, and refer victims to mental-health professionals, if needed.

The extra counselors will be targeted at the hardest hit flood areas.