Woman arrested for impersonating mother to collect pension

More than $145,000 collected from retirement funds

A Washington state woman has been accused of impersonating her mother, who died in 2007, in order to collect her pension benefits.

Loewen B. Craft, 59, was charged with identity theft, criminal impersonation and several counts of forgery.

Craft, who filed for bankruptcy in 2002, was able to fraudulently obtain US$145,339 from the Chevron Oil pension fund. At one time, the company became suspicious after finding Becker's name on a registry of deceased people, but Craft allegedly put on a grey wig and makeup to make her look older, and got an identification card in her mother's name. Officials said she notarized documents at financial institutions while posing as her mother.

Detectives, who had first become suspicious of Craft while investigating an unrelated case of arson, arrested Craft at a credit union on March 2.

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