A Seaside, OR, woman has admitted she stole more than
$567,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits from the Oregon Employment Department. Credit: MGN
PORTLAND, OR – A Seaside woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $567,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits from the Oregon Employment Department.
Tamara Fulmer, 47, pleaded guilty on November 4th, to one count of Theft of Government Benefits.
According to court documents, between May of 2020 and October of 2021, Fulmer used the personal information of 27 individuals to fraudulently apply for pandemic unemployment insurance benefits.
Based on Fulmer’s bogus applications, OED paid out $567,930 in benefits. Fulmer deposited at least 236 UI checks totaling $68,773 into her own personal account and cashed many of the government checks she received at a gas station in Seaside without the knowledge or permission of the people whose information she used.
OED paid Fulmer an additional $13,353 after she submitted her own fraudulent unemployment benefits application on which she falsely claimed she had not applied for or received disability despite receiving disability payments since 2004.
On February 19, 2025, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a one-count indictment charging Fulmer with theft of government property.
Fulmer faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of probation. She will be sentenced on February 18, 2026, in federal court.
As part of her plea deal, Fulmer has agreed to forfeit the proceeds from her criminal activity and pay $581,283 in restitution.
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Tim Lantz
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