An Anchorage woman was arrested following a federal indictment alleging her involvement in a wire and bank fraud scheme that included mail theft and aggravated identity theft. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska announced the arrest, which came after a grand jury returned an indictment last month.
Court documents state that between February 2021 and February 2022, Dusty Starr, 47, allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities to obtain money from victims using false pretenses. According to the indictment, Starr used stolen identities to apply for rent relief funds during the pandemic. In July 2021, she is accused of creating a fraudulent email account with information taken from a victim and using it to apply for rent relief on behalf of a fake LLC registered in the victim’s name. She claimed the victim was a landlord seeking assistance for unpaid rent by a tenant.
Between July and November 2021, three payments totaling over $17,000 were made to a bank account opened by Starr in the victim’s name but controlled by her. Similar methods were reportedly used on other occasions, with total estimated losses from fraudulent rent relief applications exceeding $47,500.
The indictment also alleges that Starr committed bank fraud by forging checks belonging to Alaskan organizations. In one case in September 2021, she deposited a forged check drawn from a religious organization’s account into another account under her name for $918. The organization reported this and other transactions to the Alaska State Troopers (AST), who along with financial institutions identified five fraudulent checks and one unauthorized electronic funds transfer totaling over $6,250 in losses for the organization. Starr is accused of using similar tactics against other organizations as well.
Starr faces three counts each of wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and two counts of possession of stolen mail. Her initial court appearance is scheduled for January 20, 2026 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon at the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, she could receive a mandatory minimum sentence of two years per aggravated identity theft charge and up to 30 years in prison on other charges; sentencing will be determined by a federal district judge according to guidelines and statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman stated: “An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Anchorage Domicile and Anchorage Police Department with support from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Stewart is prosecuting the case.
Further details about this case can be found at www.justice.gov/usao-ak/united-states-v-dusty-starr.
