Woman Stole Daughter’s Identity to Go to College, Live as 20-Something

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For two years, a 48-year-old Missouri woman lived as an undergraduate college student in her 20s—and did so by stealing her own daughter's identity. 

Laura Oglesby pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally providing false information to the Social Security Administration Monday, and faces up to five years behind bars for the scheme. 

Authorities say she used the Social Security card information belonging to Lauren Ashleigh Hays, her estranged daughter, to get into Southwest Baptist University and obtain student loans and grants, the New York Times reports. 

She used her daughter's name as well, and "everybody believed it," the Mountain View police chief says. 

"She even had boyfriends that believed that she was that age: 22 years old."

A sentencing date has not yet been set, but as part of her plea agreement, she must pay $17,521 in restitution to the school and her daughter. 

Oglesby admitted to fraudulently applying for a Social Security card in 2016, then using that to apply for a Missouri driver's license, before enrolling in the university the following year. 

On the run from charges she faced in Arkansas over fraud involving company credit cards, she fled to Missouri, and in 2018 Arkansas police got in touch with Missouri authorities to search for her in that state, MarketWatch reports. 

"She had lived that life for a couple of years and basically just ruined her daughter’s credit," the police chief says.

QUESTIONS:

1) Why is Laura Oglesby facing imprisonment for fraud charges?

2) Illustrate how she orchestrated and put the identity theft of her daughter into action.

3) How did the police eventually catch her?

4) Describe how badly her actions tarnished her daughter's credit. Detail how this can take a toll on her future finances.

5) How serious of a problem are identity thefts and assumptions in South Korea?

VOCABULARY:

on the run - attempting to avoid capture, typically as a fugitive from law enforcement