Tacoma woman indicted in fraud scheme that netted her $230,000 in welfare benefits
A Tacoma woman who worked for the U.S. Postal Service was indicted Friday on several charges for allegedly stealing checks out of the mail and lying about her income to receive welfare benefits.
The indictment against Iliganoa Theresa Lauofo, 39, includes accusations of wire fraud, theft of public funds, Social Security number misuse, aggravated identity theft and embezzlement of mail by a postal employee.
She is scheduled to appear in federal court Dec. 5.
Over the course of seven years, Lauofo allegedly collected more than $230,000 in a fraud scheme.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice:
Lauofo first applied for welfare benefits in 2011, claiming her husband did not live with the family and she needed assistance with food and income. She continued applying for benefits until December 2018 and submitted falsified documents in an attempt to show her husband lived elsewhere.
She also is accused of stealing and using the identities of three children in American Samoa, claiming the kids lived with her so she could receive additional benefits.
To convince the state, Lauofo allegedly falsified letters from doctors and landlords.
In 2015, she used the identities of two family members and an acquaintance to increase the amount of assistance she was receiving.
Lauofo received more than $220,000 to which she was not entitled, according to the department.
She then used the stolen identities to open bank and credit accounts, one of which was in the name of her ex-husband three years after he died.
In that scheme, Lauofo is accused of netting $10,000 by depositing worthless checks into the bank and immediately withdrawing cash before the bank caught on.
During her work as a letter carrier, Lauofo allegedly stole and deposited two checks.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 12:50 PM.
