According to the court documents, the 48-year-old mother stole her estranged daughter’s identity and pretended to be the 22-year-old woman so she can go to college and take thousands in student loans. The mother pleaded guilty on Monday. The mother started a new life. She reportedly pretended to be a 22-year-old student who dated men who believed her to be in her early 20’s along with getting a job at the city library.
Prosecutors said the 48-year-old mother from Missouri, Laura Oglesby, stole the identity of her estranged daughter, Lauren Ashleigh Hays, in 2016. She reportedly stole her identity after applying for a Social Security Card in her name. The mother lived with her daughter in Arkansas before moving by herself to Missouri after the two lost contact.
After she moved to Missouri, the mother started a new life. She reportedly pretended to be a 22-year-old student who dated men who believed her to be in her early 20’s along with getting a job at the city library. But, the 48-year-old mother stole her estranged daughter’s identity and embezzled over $25,000 and in the process ruined her daughter’s credit.
On Monday, the 48-year-old mother pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally providing false information to the Social Security Administration. Prosecutors said she now faces up to five years in prison without parole for Social Security Fraud. ‘Everyone believed it,’ Chief Perkins said. ‘She even had boyfriends that believed that she was 22 years old.’
Prosecutors said that the 48-year-old mother reportedly used a fraudulent Social Security card in her daughter’s name to obtain a Missouri driver’s license. The defendant received $9,400 in federal student loans, $5,920 in Pell Grants, $337 for books she got from the University bookstore, and $1,863 in finance charges.
The 48-year-old mother must pay $17,521 to the university as well as restitution to her daughter Lauren for identity theft, prosecutors said. This is a developing story and it will be updated as new information become available.