NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A federal indictment filed earlier this month charged Lakeia Shepperd, 39, with multiple crimes in an alleged scheme to use prison inmates to defraud the Commonwealth of more than $360,000.
The indictment and other documents show that Shepperd has also used the names Lakeia Miles, Lakeia Williams, Lakeia Grant and Chris Lover.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, people trying to get unemployment benefits overwhelmed the Virginia Employment Commission, but Shepperd apparently found a giant pair of scissors to hack through that red tape. She allegedly got the personal information from prison inmates to set up 11 different bogus accounts with the VEC from April thru June 2020 in a complex scheme.
Shepperd and an unnamed accomplice used the names of inmates at Virginia state prisons in Big Stone Gap, Craigsville, Dilwyn, and closest to Hampton Roads, in Waverly, Sussex County.
The VEC approved payouts on the 11 accounts in the form of prepaid debit cards or direct deposits into bank accounts for a total of more than $395,000. By November 2020, the VEC realized the fraud and was able to claw back about $35,000 of unused funds, but the net loss to the Commonwealth was roughly $360,000.
The indictment shows that the inmates were knowing co-conspirators. Shepperd is charged with putting credits on the inmates’ prison accounts, but in amounts far less than she was allegedly realizing in the scheme.
One inmate got as little as $250, and the most was a payment of $3,000.
10 On Your Side found an address for Lakeia Shepperd in the Denbigh section of Newport News, and a woman was seen entering the home, but she did not open the door and denied any knowledge of Shepperd.
She’s free on bond and has a trial date in April on charges of conspiracy, identity theft and mail fraud.
