Cranberry Woman Charged in Student Loan Fraud Scheme

A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has indicted a Cranberry Township woman on charges of bank fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

According to the 12-count indictment, Meredith L. Shuster, 34, of Redmond Court, fraudulently obtained private lender student loans; she provided loan applications that included forged signatures of purported guarantors of the loans.

Shuster also is charged with identity theft.

The law provides for a maximum sentence of 304 years in prison, a fine of $10,500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, Postal Inspector Molly Hackimer, the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.