The U.S. Attorney's office in Kansas City, Missouri, has announced that a former employee of the Social Security Administration in Missouri was charged with wire fraud after she allegedly submitted altered documents to get COVID-19-related loans in 2020.
Tiffanie Foster, 48, of Kansas City, Missouri, allegedly altered bank and tax documents to receive pandemic loans through the Paycheck Protection Program as well as unemployment benefits. She faces two counts of wire fraud.
The PPP was a U.S. Small Business Administration program designed to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic lockdowns.
Foster was a full-time employee of the Social Security Administration in July 2020, when she allegedly applied for unemployment benefits through the state of Michigan.
She received over $30,000 in unemployment benefits from 2020-2021. She also received a $20,833 PPP loan that was forgiven by the SBA, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
The FBI identified in 2024 estimated PPP loan fraud to be roughly $64 billion, according to a 2024 FBI press release.
Foster was identified by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The committee was reviewing a list of Social Security Administration employees who applied for pandemic benefits.
The inspectors general of the Social Security Administration and Department of Labor investigated Foster's activities. Special assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda K. Hanson is prosecuting the case.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, Foster faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison without parole and three years of probation per count if she is convicted.
Newsmax has reached out to the Social Security Administration for comment but has so far received no response.
Olivia D'Angelo is a graduate of the University of North Carolina (Asheville) and a summer intern with John Gizzi.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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