Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Catherine Seemer, a nurse practitioner, has been sentenced to five years in prison for orchestrating an $11.2 million disability loan fraud scheme. The sentence was delivered by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel.
U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon stated: “Today, Catherine Seemer has been held accountable for defrauding a federal loan forgiveness program created to help ease the financial burden of those who suffer from permanent physical or mental disabilities, including military veterans who endure service-related disabilities. Seemer used the stolen identities of a dozen medical doctors to falsify disabilities and cause more than $11.2 million in loans to be fraudulently discharged."
The allegations against Seemer detailed that from June 2017 through March 2022, she orchestrated a scheme involving fraudulent discharge of student loans under the federal Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Program and its private counterpart. She deceived over 125 borrowers into believing they qualified for student loan relief and charged them fees for processing their loan discharge applications.
Seemer submitted fraudulent applications using personal information from these borrowers, claiming non-existent permanent physical and mental disabilities. She also used stolen identities and forged signatures of over twelve medical doctors to support these false claims, resulting in wrongful discharge of approximately $11.2 million in loans.
In addition to her prison term, Seemer, aged 44 from Elmsford, New York, received three years of supervised release and must pay restitution amounting to $635,352.
Ms. Sassoon commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Qais Ghafary from the Office’s White Plains Division.