An Ohio woman was arrested in Utah on Friday on suspicion of stealing the identity of a dead baby and using it to get a fake passport and a loan.
According to court documents and a press release from the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Ohio, the woman took the identity of a baby who died in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979.
A few years after she was released from prison for theft, forgery and escape, Misseldine stole the name and used it to apply for an Ohio ID, Social Security card, and driver's license. She assumed the name again in 2007, in order to apply for a student pilot license and a US passport, which she used to apply for a job as a flight attendant.
According to the US attorney's office, Misseldine used both her real and fake identities over the course of 13 years and obtained over 1.5 million dollars in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans.
According to The Daily Beast, Misseldine applied for money for multiple bakeries and catering companies she operated in the Columbus area.
The relief money was used to buy two homes, one in Utah for nearly $650,000 and the other in Michigan for $327,500.
Misseldine told Columbus media outlets that she was a former cancer researcher from Hawaii and that her family ran a tea business, but a relative told The Daily Beast that was not true.
She is accused of using a fake identity to get into the university.
Paula Bourgeois told The Daily Beast she had never heard of Misseldine and only learned of the identity theft of her late daughter when she was contacted by the outlet.
Brie didn't have a Social Security number. She was only four months old when she died.
According to the US attorney's office, Misseldine has been charged with passport fraud, social security number fraud, identity theft, and fraud in connection with an emergency. She's still in jail.
She could face up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.
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