A St. Joseph woman has been charged with defrauding the federal government out of nearly $80,000 in coronavirus relief aid. Brent Martin reports.
A federal grand jury empaneled in Kansas City handed down a four-count indictment against 38-year-old Brooke Stewart.
The federal indictment accuses Stewart of filing false unemployment claims by using the names of prisoners. Congress approved enhanced unemployment benefits in March 2020, part of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The indictment charges Stewart filed for the $600 enhanced unemployment benefits for four separate people not eligible under the program, known as “Emergency Increase in Unemployment Compensation.” The indictment seeks the return of $78,858 to the federal government.
Stewart was charged with stealing in a separate case in Buchanan County in May and a warrant was issued for her arrest after she failed to appear in court on September 26th.
(Photo courtesy Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department)
