Seaside Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon, dated April 16, 2026. Tamara Fulmer was ordered to pay restitution of $581,283 and was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. According to court documents, between May 2020 and October 2021 Fulmer used the personal information of 27 individuals she claimed to be her employees to apply for pandemic unemployment insurance benefits, and the Oregon Employment Department paid out more than $567,000 in UI benefits. A federal grand jury in Portland returned a one-count indictment charging theft of government property on February 19, 2025, and Fulmer pleaded guilty on November 4, 2025.

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“Seaside Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits.” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2026-04-17-seaside-woman-sentenced-to-federal-prison-for-stealing-covi-1afecee319/, SHA-256 ecd80140ae4fcd1215ae000c1bc477c33d9d4f7ed8da9b98db12ee4b08754014.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE

Seaside Woman Sentenced to Federal
Prison for Stealing COVID-19
Unemployment Benefits
Thursday, April 16, 2026

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Seaside, Oregon, woman was sentenced to federal prison yesterday
for submitting fraudulent pandemic unemployment applications, falsely claiming over
two dozen employees, and causing the government to pay her over half a million dollars
in benefits.

Tamara Fulmer, 48, was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and three years of
supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $581,283 in restitution.

“Fraudsters who steal benefits are not just stealing from the government – they are
depriving other Oregonians who depend on those benefits to live,” said Scott E.
Bradford, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “Our office will continue to prioritize
and prosecute theft of government funds.”

“This case sends a clear message: those who attempt to defraud government programs
will be held accountable. Tamara Fulmer stole nearly $600,000 from the unemployment
insurance program at a time when Americans needed those funds most. The Office of
Inspector General, together with local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the U.S. Department of
Justice’s newly established National Fraud Enforcement Division, and our law
enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who seek to
exploit government benefit programs. No fraud is too large or too small,” said Anthony
P. D’Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

According to court documents, between May 2020 and October 2021, Fulmer used the
personal information of 27 individuals she claimed to be her employees to fraudulently
apply for pandemic unemployment insurance benefits (UI benefits).
Based on Fulmer’s misrepresentations, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) paid
out more than $567,000 in UI benefits. Fulmer deposited at least 236 UI checks totaling
nearly $69,000 into her own personal account and cashed many of the UI checks at a
gas station in Seaside without the applicants’ knowledge or permission.

OED paid Fulmer an additional $13,353 after she submitted her own fraudulent UI
application where she falsely claimed she had not applied for or received disability
benefits, despite receiving disability payments since 2004.

On February 19, 2025, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a one-count indictment
charging Fulmer with theft of government property. On November 4, 2025, Fulmer
pleaded guilty.

U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General,
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and the Social
Security Administration Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Meredith D.M.
Bateman and Ethan G. Bodell, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National
Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously
investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer
dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task
Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D.
Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF)
Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Updated April 16, 2026

File and source

File: 2026-04-17-Seaside-Woman-Sentenced-to-Federal-Prison-for-Stealing-COVID-19-Unemployment-Benefits-USAO-D-OR-04.pdf
Size: 103,074 bytes
SHA-256: ecd80140ae4fcd1215ae000c1bc477c33d9d4f7ed8da9b98db12ee4b08754014
Our copy: 2026-04-17-Seaside-Woman-Sentenced-to-Federal-Prison-for-Stealing-COVID-19-Unemployment-Benefits-USAO-D-OR-04.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov