( CNN ) -- Federal authorities arrested a 37-year-old Bronx woman on Thursday after she allegedly concocted a ruse in the wake of the Connecticut mass shooting and posed as a relative of one of the slain children . Nouel Alba is accused of using her Facebook account to solicit money from those wanting to donate to victims ' families , claiming that the money was to be used for a `` funeral fund , '' according to a U.S. Justice Department statement . The donors apparently transmitted the money to a PayPal account controlled by Alba , who later allegedly lied about the scam to federal investigators , prosecutors said . Newtown : No more gifts , please . `` This arrest should serve as a warning to anyone who attempts to profit from this tragedy by contriving fraudulent schemes that exploit the many victims , their families and individuals who sincerely want to help , '' said Connecticut U.S. Attorney David Fein in a statement . On December 14 , a 20-year old gunman opened fire in Newtown 's Sandy Hook Elementary School , killing 26 people just after he killed his mother in their Newtown home . Alba has since been charged with lying to federal agents and was released on $ 50,000 bond . If convicted , she faces up to five years in jail and a maximum $ 250,000 fine . On December 19 , CNN 's `` AC360 '' broadcast a story about the alleged ruse and interviewed Alba , who denied her involvement in the alleged scam . `` This says -- this has your e-mail on it . Right there , '' said CNN investigative producer David Fitzpatrick . `` This is about Noah Pozner 's funeral . '' `` I never sent that , '' Alba replied . Later , in the interview Alba identified one of her e-mail accounts presented by Fitzpatrick . `` Yeah , that 's one of my gmails . ... Yeah , my personal account , '' she said during the interview . `` But I never set up any funds for anybody . '' Geneticists studying Connecticut shooter 's DNA . Pozner 's family issued a statement saying , `` We are pleased that law enforcement has pursued this matter so diligently . We hope that this dissuades other scammers from trying to take advantage of this horrible tragedy . ''
Nouel Alba has been arrested . She allegedly transmitted money to a bank account . Criminal complaint accused her of lying to federal investigators . Woman says she never set up funds .