A Seaside, Oregon, woman was convicted and sentenced for submitting dozens of fake pandemic unemployment claims that netted her more than half a million dollars in benefits, triggering federal prosecution and restitution orders.
Tamara Fulmer, 48, was ordered to serve 28 months in federal prison and will face three years of supervised release after her guilty plea. The court also required her to pay $581,283 in restitution for fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits using other people’s identities.
According to court records, between May 2020 and October 2021 Fulmer used the personal details of 27 individuals she listed as employees to apply for pandemic unemployment insurance. Those false applications led the Oregon Employment Department to issue more than $567,000 in UI payments tied to Fulmer’s misrepresentations.
Investigators say Fulmer deposited at least 236 UI checks totaling nearly $69,000 into her personal account and cashed many others at a Seaside gas station without the applicants’ knowledge. She also submitted her own fraudulent UI claim and was paid an extra $13,353 after falsely denying receipt of disability benefits she had been receiving since 2004.
“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. That quote underscores the prosecution’s message: taking taxpayer dollars during a crisis hits real people who rely on those funds.
Federal prosecutors returned a one-count indictment on February 19, 2025, charging Fulmer with theft of government property, and she pleaded guilty on November 4, 2025. U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford announced the case and the subsequent sentencing once the plea and restitution were finalized.
“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.
The investigation was handled by multiple inspector general offices, including 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. Prosecutors on the case were Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith D.M. Bateman and Ethan G. Bodell for the District of Oregon.
On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division to target those who steal or misuse taxpayer dollars. Department officials tied these enforcement efforts to President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance, aimed at cutting fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.
If anyone has information about attempted COVID-19–related fraud, the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721 accepts reports, and the NCDF also accepts complaints through its web complaint form. The case against Fulmer is part of a broader push to recover stolen public money and deter future thefts of government benefits. U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford made the announcement about the prosecution and sentence.
