A strange story has stirred controversy in the United States recently, featuring a woman who faked her identity and lived as her daughter, convincing everyone that she was two decades younger than her actual age. A 48-year-old woman admitted to fraud charges after spending two years living as her 22-year-old daughter, using her stolen identity to enroll in college, obtain student loans, and secure a driver's license.
Everyone who knew her, including residents of Mountain View, Missouri, believed that Laura Oglesby was actually 22 years old. According to the New York Times, she held a job at the city library and dated men who thought she was in her early twenties. After reportedly embezzling over $25,000, Oglesby now faces up to 5 years in prison without parole for fraudulently providing information to the Social Security Administration.
Mountain View Police Chief Jimmy Perkins told the New York Times, "Everyone believed her... she even had friends who thought she was that age... 22 years old." The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri stated that Oglesby pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge related to deliberately providing false information to the Social Security Administration.
As part of a plea agreement, Oglesby must also pay $17,000 in restitution to Southwest Baptist University. She received $9,400 in federal student loans and $5,920 in other grants. Nikos Passas, a criminology and criminal justice professor at Northeastern University, told the New York Times that social security fraud and identity theft are "very common" in the United States.
It is worth noting that Oglesby has not spoken to her daughter for years due to disputes that severed their relationship, prompting her to exploit her daughter's identity.
