This Mom Stole Her 22-Year-Old Daughter’s Identity, Went To College, And Spent 2 Whole Years Pretending To Be Her
Springfield, Missouri. A 48-year-old mom named Laura Oglesby stole the identity of her 22-year-old daughter Lauren Ashleigh Hays, went to college, and spent 2 whole years pretending to be her daughter.
This all started back on January 14th, 2016, when Laura fraudulently applied for a social security card using Lauren’s personal information.
The Social Security Administration then sent Laura a social security card for Lauren, with no idea this mom was posing as her daughter.
On the day that Laura got that social security card, she turned around and applied for a driver’s license in the state of Missouri under Lauren’s name.
“In 2017, Oglesby used the fraudulently obtained Social Security card of L.A.H. to enroll at a university, identified in court documents as “University A,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri explained in a statement.
“Using the stolen identity of L.A.H., Oglesby applied for and received financial aid to attend University A. Oglesby obtained $9,400 in federal student loans, $5,920 in Pell Grants, $337 for books purchased at University A’s bookstore, and $1,863 in finance charges.”
So, Laura went on her merry way and posed as her daughter while enrolled at Southwest Baptist University for two entire years and nobody caught on to her.
Laura created a fake Facebook profile under the name Ashleigh Hays and she did heavily edit her photos to appear younger, but that still doesn’t explain how she passed for practically half her age in real life.
Mountain View Police Department; pictured above is Laura Oglesby in her mugshot
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Laura also was able to con a couple named Wendy and Avery who welcomed her with open arms after she pretended to be a “battered young woman” suffering from domestic abuse.
“For two and a half years Avery Parker and I have mentored, Lauren Ashleigh Hays,” Wendy wrote in a Facebook post.
“Her story was, she came to Willow Springs as a battered young woman by domestic violence. At 22 she had no family and was all alone.”
Facebook; pictured above is Laura in one of her edited Facebook photos
“We took her into our lives and we cared for her. Physically, emotionally and very often monetarily. The lies were small at first, lies a child would tell. Then things escalated. I asked my sister-in-law Stacey Parker Hackler to do a little research, she’s out of state and sharp as a tack.”
“Two days, 26 phone calls and 86 texts later Lauren or I should say Laura Ann Kirkpatrick Hays Oglesby, age 45 is now in custody awaiting trial in two states for embezzlement, federal fraud, drug charges, and quite a few other miscellaneous charges. Up to life in prison.”
“She leaves behind two ex-husbands, four children, and two grandchildren. Who want nothing to do with her, neither do we. Our trust in people has been crushed.”
Facebook; pictured above is Laura in another photo
Laura has pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally furnishing false information to the Social Security Administration.
As part of her plea agreement, Laura needs to come up with $17,521 in restitution to repay the college she conned, as well as her daughter whose identity she stole.
Laura’s sentencing hearing is upcoming, and she could still spend up to 5 years in federal prison with no possibility for parole.
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