A Hamlet woman has been arrested in connection with a reported $23,000 unemployment fraud scheme, according to the Aberdeen Police Department.
Aberdeen Police said they began investigating on Sept. 20, 2024, after receiving a report about a fraudulent unemployment claim. The victim, a resident of Aberdeen, allegedly received a notice from the North Carolina Division of Employment Security stating she owed $23,009.20.
According to the department, investigators served a search warrant on July 1 to the Division of Employment Security to obtain records linked to the claim. “After investigating the documents from the search warrant, Aberdeen Investigators found addresses linked to Tara Cordell and a Bank of America Debit Card which was linked to the unemployment claim,” police said in a news release.
On July 23, investigators reportedly went to Bank of America for additional information and “positively identified” Tara Cordell, 37, as the suspect. That same day, warrants were obtained for multiple felony charges, including identity theft, obtaining property by false pretenses, forgery, accessing computers, financial card forgery, financial card fraud, and forgery of instrument.
Cordell was arrested on Aug. 5 by the Anson County Sheriff’s Office, police said. She was given a $15,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Moore County District Court on Aug. 21.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Information and photos courtesy the Aberdeen Police Department.
