Nurse Practitioner Scammed $11.2M In Massive Disability Loan Fraud

ELMSFORD, NY — A nurse practitioner behind a huge disability program fraud will spend time behind bars.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that 44-year-old Catherine Seemer, of Elmsford, a nurse practitioner who stole the identities of 12 physicians as part of an $11.2 million disability loan fraud scheme, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $635,352 in restitution.

"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," Sassoon said. "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. This Office remains dedicated to rooting out fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded government programs."

According to court documents, from June 2017 through March 2022, Seemer deceived over 125 borrowers into believing they qualified for various forms of student loan relief and charged them fees — often between 10 percent and 20 percent of the loan amount — to facilitate their loan discharge process.

Using their personal identifying information, authorities said, she submitted fraudulent applications for the discharge of student loans based on non-existent permanent physical and mental disabilities.

To support the fraudulent applications, Seemer used stolen identities, medical license numbers and forged signatures of more than a dozen medical doctors to falsify medical diagnoses and disability certifications, according to prosecutors.

The DOJ says that her scheme resulted in the wrongful discharge of over $11.2 million in loans under the disability-based relief programs.

Sassoon praised the investigative work of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Qais Ghafary in charge of the prosecution.

SEE ALSO: Nurse Practitioner Defrauds Student Loan Fund Of $10.5M: Feds