Federal prosecutors have accused an Anchorage woman of exploiting pandemic-era relief programs and local organizations in a sweeping fraud scheme that allegedly netted tens of thousands of dollars through stolen identities, forged checks, and fake business records.

According to court documents, Dusty Starr, 47, was arrested last week in Anchorage after a federal grand jury returned an indictment last month charging her with wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen mail.

Prosecutors allege that between February 2021 and February 2022, Starr devised and carried out a scheme to obtain money from victims through “materially false and fraudulent pretenses,” targeting pandemic rent relief programs and Alaska-based organizations during a period of widespread economic hardship.

The indictment claims Starr used stolen personal identifying information to fraudulently apply for COVID-era rent relief funds. In one instance in July 2021, she allegedly created a fake email account using a victim’s stolen information, then submitted an application claiming the victim was a landlord struggling to collect rent from a tenant. Prosecutors say Starr bolstered the application with a fraudulent business certificate she obtained in the victim’s name for a limited liability company.

Between July and November 2021, three rent relief payments—totaling more than $17,000—were allegedly deposited into a bank account Starr had fraudulently opened in the victim’s name and controlled herself. Authorities say she repeated similar conduct multiple times, bringing the total estimated loss from fraudulent rent relief applications to more than $47,500.

Court documents further allege that Starr committed bank fraud by forging checks drawn on the accounts of Alaska organizations. In September 2021, prosecutors say she deposited a forged check for $918 from a religious organization’s account into an account in her own name at a federally insured financial institution. The organization later reported the suspicious activity to the Alaska State Troopers, who, along with the bank, identified five fraudulent checks and an unauthorized electronic funds transfer. That organization’s losses alone totaled more than $6,250, according to investigators.

Authorities say Starr used similar tactics to steal additional funds from other Alaska organizations, expanding the scope of the alleged scheme beyond pandemic relief.

Starr is charged with three counts of wire fraud, three counts of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of possession of stolen mail. She is scheduled to make her initial court appearance on Jan. 20, 2026, before Kyle F. Reardon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.

If convicted, Starr faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for each aggravated identity theft charge, in addition to potential sentences of up to 30 years for the wire and bank fraud counts. A federal district judge will ultimately determine any sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.