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Esther Reed

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Esther Reed
StatusIn prison
Other namesElizabeth Reed
Brooke Henson
Natalie Fisher
Natalie Bowman
Jennifer Myers
Conviction(s)Fraud
Identity theft
Criminal chargeMail fraud
Wire fraud
Identity theft
Social Security fraud
Penalty51 months

Esther Elizabeth Reed (born March 8, 1978 in Townsend, Montana) is an American convicted on fraud and identity theft charges. She is most known for assuming a number of identities, including that of missing person Brooke Henson, to gain entry to universities.

Biography

Early life and education

Despite later managing to gain entry to a number of prestigious universities, Esther Reed had dropped out of high school in Townsend, Montana. She claimed to be a skilled chess player and often claimed chess tournaments as her income to friends to cover up her financial scams.[1][2][3][4]

Missing person

In October 1999 she disappeared shortly after she was convicted of stealing her sister's checkbook. She was reported missing in 2004 by her father after Social Security checks revealed she was alive.[5][6][7]

She attended Harvard University and California State University, Fullerton under the identities Natalie Bowman and Natalie Fisher (the name of a friend's sister).[1][8] She was exposed in New York in 2006 after a potential employer found her identity as Brooke Henson to be a missing person in South Carolina and reported her to New York City police, who also discovered shortly after that she was actually Esther Reed and was attending Columbia University as Brooke Henson.[2][9][8][3][1][10][11][12][13][14]

After agreeing to give DNA to prove she was indeed Brooke Henson, Esther Reed bailed and relocated to Chicago and again changed her identity to Jennifer Myers.[2]

She was featured on the United States Secret Service's 10 most wanted fugitive list and America's Most Wanted on the Fox Television Network.[15][16][17][18][19]

Capture

Finally on July 2, 2008 in Tinley Park, Illinois she was captured after a local shooting at a Lane Bryant store caused police to run license plate checks on out-of-state plates. They found her car with Iowa license plates at a local Sleep Inn and arrested her.[8][20][21][22]

Conviction

Esther Reed was then sent to South Carolina where she was tried on four felony charges.[23] Her defense lawyers argued that her behavior was a result of mental illness caused by a strict family upbringing.[24][25]

She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 51 months in prison.[26] She is scheduled to be released from Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia in October of 2011.[1][8][27][28][29][30][31]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Ivy League identity thief sentenced to 4 years". CBC. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  2. ^ a b c "Con Artist Pleads Guilty to Stealing Missing Woman's Identity to Get Into Ivy League School". Fox News. August 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  3. ^ a b "Capture The Queen". CBS News. December 1, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  4. ^ Garvey, Marianne (January 12, 2007). "IVY GAL FLED HER PAST". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-09-30. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Lincoln, Marga (January 24, 2007). "Townsend woman on the lam". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  6. ^ Kinnard, Meg (March 3, 2008). "Montana woman accused of stealing IDs, duping schools in SC court". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  7. ^ Kinnard, Meg (March 3, 2008). "Suspect in Ivy League ID Theft in Court". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  8. ^ a b c d "Catch Her If You Can". CBS News. May 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  9. ^ "'America's Most Wanted' Features Brooke Henson Case". WYFF 4. November 2, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  10. ^ Tuchman, Gary (January 19, 2007). "Woman steals another's identity, gets into Ivy League". CNN. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  11. ^ Fenner, Austin (February 4, 2008). "CO-ED 'CON' HAD MONEY TO BURN". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-10-05. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Alpert, Lukas I. (November 1, 2007). "100G CON RAP HITS U. PHONY". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  13. ^ Alpert, Lukas I. (March 4, 2008). "College Con Girl Bulks Up". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  14. ^ Stasi, Linda (December 1, 2007). "How Did She Do It?". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  15. ^ Sullivan, Jennifer (February 6, 2008). "Mountlake Terrace con artist suspect nabbed after nearly a decade on the run". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  16. ^ "AMW CAPTURE DATA FILE FOR ESTHER ELIZABETH REED". America's Most Wanted. February 2, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  17. ^ "Most Wanted Fugitive Ester Reed Captured". Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report (PDF). United States Secret Service. p. 15.
  18. ^ Goldman, Russell (November 12, 2007). "Feds Chase Alleged Ivy League ID Fraudster". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  19. ^ "A Look At Some Of The "Baddest" Women In America". America's Most Wanted. November 3, 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  20. ^ Goldman, Russell (February 4, 2008). "Feds Nab Suspected Ivy Leage ID Fraudster". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-10-05. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Feds Nab Woman Accused of ID Thefts". Fox News. February 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  22. ^ "Police: Identity thief who conned way into Ivy League arrested". CNN. February 3, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  23. ^ "Report: Esther Reed Waives Hearing, Will Be Sent To South Carolina". News Channel 7. February 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  24. ^ Leonard, Tom (February 11, 2008). "Ivy League identity thief 'was hiding from strict family'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  25. ^ Schafer, Susanne M. (February 10, 2009). "Defense Seeks Court Mercy for Ivy League ID Thief". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  26. ^ "South Carolina: ID Theft Sentencing". New York Times. February 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  27. ^ Kinnard, Meg (August 20, 2008). "POISON IVY IS GUILTY". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  28. ^ Bennett, Chuck (May 8, 2009). "IVY CON GAL PLANNED A LIFELONG LIE". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  29. ^ Shukovsky, Paul (February 12, 2009). "Local woman gets 51 months in prison for identity theft". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  30. ^ "Ivy League ID thief is sentenced". Boston Globe. February 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  31. ^ "Identity Thief Gets 4 Years In Prison". Fox Carolina. February 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
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