Catherine Seemer, 42, of Elmsford, New York, was charged with wire fraud, federal financial aid fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme that resulted in the fraudulent discharge of over $10.5 million worth of student loans on the basis of falsified medical certifications of permanent disabilities. From June 2017 through March 2022, Seemer orchestrated a scheme to cause the fraudulent discharge of millions of dollars’ worth of student loans for borrowers who did not qualify for relief under the federal Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Program and its private analogue. As part of the scheme, Seemer deceived over 100 borrowers into believing they qualified for various forms of student loan relief and charged them fees—often between 10% and 20% of the loan amount—to facilitate their loan discharge process. She then used the personal identifying information of the unsuspecting borrowers to submit fraudulent applications for student loan discharge on the basis of non-existent permanent physical and mental disabilities. In support of these applications, Seemer used the stolen identities, medical license numbers, and forged signatures of over a dozen medical doctors to falsify medical diagnoses and disability certifications. The scheme resulted in the wrongful discharge of over approximately $10.5 million in loans under the disability-based relief programs. It is estimated that Seemer earned at least approximately $1 million as a result of the scheme.
