An Oregon woman now faces federal charges under allegations that she used her deceased spouse’s identity to fraudulently obtain nearly $40,000 in federal student aid, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced last week.

A federal grand jury indicted Cynthia Pickering, 55, of Central Point, Oregon, with nine counts in October 2022; the counts included wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and student loan fraud, the office said.