A Southern Oregon woman impersonated her dead spouse to receive more than $36,3000 in federal financial aid and even went so far as to take and pass online classes in the spouse’s name at three colleges, according to federal prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Oregon said Thursday, Nov. 17 that a federal grand jury indicted Cynthia Pickering, 55, of Central Point, on nine counts of wire and student loan fraud and identity theft.
Prosecutors did not disclose the gender of the spouse and a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that was disclosed in “public court documents.”
Pickering was arrested Tuesday, Nov. 15 and pleaded not guilty in a federal court Wednesday, Nov. 16. A trial is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2023.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and court filling, Pickering allegedly used “her deceased spouse’s personally identifiable information to submit multiple applications for federal student aid and enroll her former spouse at three different colleges and universities in Oregon.”
Prosecutors alleged the scheme went on from September 2017 to April 2019.
“These fraudulent applications caused the three colleges and universities — Eastern Oregon University, Rogue Community College, and Western Oregon University — to disperse $36,341 in federal student aid into Pickering’s personal checking account,” the federal prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
“To conceal her scheme, Pickering attended online classes pretending to be her former spouse so that her spouse would remain eligible for the student aid. Pickering did what was necessary to pass first term courses at each institution and collect the funds,” the release also said.
Pickering could face up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charges per count as well incarceration time for the identity and student loan fraud.
