(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — South Side resident Katrina Pierce is accused of obtaining dozens of death certificates of Chicago homicide victims, all between the ages of 2 and 22.
She did so by claiming to be the victims’ relative, authorities say.
A 34-page complaint made public in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleges Pierce used the death certificates to receive thousands of dollars in tax refunds and COVID stimulus payments.
One of the victims, according to the complaint, was identified as 7-year-old Amari Brown, who was fatally shot in Humboldt Park in 2015.
The woman had requested a total of 37 death certificates in 2019 alone, and succeeded in obtaining 26 of them, authorities said.
Pierce was arrested Tuesday on federal fraud charges and aggravated identity theft.
A federal judge ordered her held ahead of her preliminary hearing next week.
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