A ring led by a mother-daughter duo is accused of obtaining $690,000 in student loans using bogus applications and applying for millions more, authorities say.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Wednesday that five women allegedly stole the identities of people with names similar to their own and used those names as co-signers on loan applications, said Special Agent Joe Velling of the Social Security Administration Inspector General's Office.

They allegedly submitted student loan applications for about $2.2 million and received $690,000, which they used for their own benefit and purposes, a 22-count federal indictment alleges.

Kathy Hardy, 59, and her daughters, Theresa Hardy, 20, and Leslie Gordon, 35, all of Renton, Wash., are charged with bank fraud and aggravated ID theft.

Theresa Hardy and Gordon pleaded not guilty and were released pending trial Aug. 11. Kathy Hardy was being held in jail, the newspaper reported.

If found guilty, the women face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the bank fraud charges and an additional two years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the ID theft charges.

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