Former New Jersey congressional staffer charged with staging hoax attack against herself

OCEAN CITY, N.J. -- A former congressional staffer from Ocean City, New Jersey, is charged with allegedly staging a violent attack against herself, which she claimed was politically motivated.

Federal prosecutors said 26-year-old Natalie Greene went to extreme lengths for the alleged hoax, undergoing numerous cuts and getting zip-tied with the help of a female co-conspirator.

The criminal complaint says the women called 911 back in July to say they were attacked at gunpoint at the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve.

Police found Greene zip-tied, with crisscrossing lacerations and messages written on her body.

One was a sexual slur referencing President Trump and the other called a federal official a racist.

Greene claimed the attackers were talking about politics.

However, investigators determined the attack was fabricated after allegedly finding zip ties and duct tape in her car, as well as text messages with a body modification artist that they say she paid to scar and scrape her.