A Seaside, Oregon resident has admitted to stealing more than $567,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits from the Oregon Employment Department. Tamara Fulmer, 47, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of theft of government benefits.
Court documents state that between May 2020 and October 2021, Fulmer used the personal information of 27 people to fraudulently apply for pandemic unemployment insurance benefits. The Oregon Employment Department paid out $567,930 as a result of these applications. Fulmer deposited at least 236 unemployment checks totaling $68,773 into her own account and cashed many others at a gas station in Seaside without the knowledge or permission of the applicants.
Additionally, Fulmer received $13,353 after submitting her own fraudulent application for unemployment benefits. She falsely claimed she had not applied for or received disability payments despite receiving such payments since 2004.
A federal grand jury indicted Fulmer on February 19, 2025, on one count of theft of government property. She faces up to ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for February 18, 2026.
Fulmer has agreed to forfeit proceeds from her crimes and pay $581,283 in restitution as part of her plea agreement.
The investigation was conducted 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. Meredith D.M. Bateman, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon prosecuted the case.
Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through their online complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
