Five women indicted in student-loan fraud

A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted five women in an alleged scheme to fraudulently apply for more than $2.2 million in student loans.

The defendants include two sisters and their mother, all from Renton, and two Seattle residents. They were scheduled to make an initial appearance at U.S. District Court this afternoon.

The U.S. attorney's office says the five used other people's Social Security numbers and identities to apply for the loans from private companies, and they actually received $690,000. The loans were funded by banks.

The charges include bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.