In a bizarre and troubling twist of events, a 26-year-old woman from New Jersey, who previously served as an aide to a Republican congressman, has been charged with orchestrating a hoax attack on herself. The woman, Natalie Greene, allegedly enlisted the help of a “body modification” artist to inflict injuries on her face and body, scrawl “Trump whore” on her stomach, and tie her up with zip ties. She then falsely claimed that the assault was carried out by three armed men who purportedly disagreed with her political views.

Greene, who formerly worked for Rep. Jeff Van Drew of Ocean City, faces serious charges, including conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes, along with making false statements to federal law enforcement. The Department of Justice detailed these accusations in a recent announcement, shedding light on the alleged deception.

The alleged conspiracy unfolded dramatically on the night of July 23, when Greene’s accomplice made a frantic 911 call. The caller reported that the two women had been ambushed while walking along a trail in a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township. According to the narrative presented during the call, the supposed assailants had targeted Greene specifically.

“They were more focused on her,” the accomplice claimed during the emergency call, as detailed in the criminal complaint. “I had one guy holding me down while the other two were on her. I managed to escape,” the caller recounted. She went on to claim that the attackers were motivated by political animosity, allegedly hurling insults like “racist” and “whore” at Greene due to her employment with Congressman Van Drew.

“They were more focused on her. Like I had one guy like holding me down and then the other two were on her. And I was able to run away,” the co-conspirator said, per the criminal complaint. “They were talking about politics, she works for [Jeff Van Drew]. They were like calling her like racist, calling her a whore.”

Police responded to the scene, where they found Greene “lying in a wooded area just off the trail, with her hands and feet bound together with black zip ties.” Her shirt had been pulled over her head and secured with another black zip tie.

“Greene had numerous lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “The words ‘TRUMP WHORE’ were written on her stomach and the words ‘[Van Drew] IS RACIST’ were written on her back. Greene was crying and yelling that one of her alleged attackers had a gun.”

Greene claimed that one or more of her attackers had a gun and “threatened to shoot her.” She also claimed one or more of the attackers “held her down and restrained her movement, cutting her and writing on her body.”

Emergency medical personnel transported Greene to a local hospital for medical treatment to close the lacerations on her face and body. Several days later, she provided another statement about the incident to law enforcement, including an FBI agent. However, investigators said her story soon unraveled.

“The investigation revealed that Greene had not, in fact, been attacked by three men at gunpoint,” the release states. “Instead, Greene had paid a body modification/scarification artist to deliberately cut the lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder, based on a pattern that she had provided beforehand. Law enforcement officers recovered black zip ties in Greene’s car on the night of the alleged attack, similar to the zip ties that had been used to bind Greene’s arms and feet.

Investigators tracked down the body modification artist who provided them with photos of the lacerations he made to Greene’s skin. The professional’s cuts followed the “exact same pattern as the lacerations that were observed on Greene when she was found lying on the ground in the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve,” prosecutors said.

The criminal complaint noted that Greene drove her Maserati SUV to the nature preserve that evening. Police said Greene’s co-conspirator became “agitated” when investigators said they were going to search the vehicle

Additionally, the investigation revealed that, two days prior to the alleged attack, Greene’s co-conspirator used her cellphone to search “zip ties near me.” Footage from a Dollar General by the co-conspirator’s home allegedly showed her in the store and purchasing the zip ties two days before the alleged attack.

In a statement to the New Jersey Globe, a spokesperson for Van Drew said they were “deeply saddened” by the allegations against Greene and confirmed that she was no longer employed by the congressman.

“While Natalie is no longer associated with the congressman’s government office, our thoughts and prayers are with her and hope she’s getting the care she needs,” the statement said.

Greene appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal on Wednesday and was released after posting a $200,000 unsecured bond. It was not immediately clear when Greene will next be required to appear in court.