5 people charged in Alabama elder fraud scheme

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Five people were charged in an elder fraud scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona.

Mykia Henderson, 32, of Moody, Cynthia Hixon, 50, of Fairfield, and Corey Webb, 44, of Moody, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, according to a 12-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court.

According to the indictment, between December 2020 and February 2020, Mixon and Henderson, who are mother and daughter, were caretakers for the victim. Webb was Henderson’s husband. The three defendants devised a scheme to defraud the victim by charging the victim’s credit cards through accounts set up by Square, Inc. and Stripe, Inc., issuing checks to themselves drawn from the victim’s bank accounts and transferring the funds they received to their personal bank accounts.

In March, Whitney Wallace, 33, of Birmingham, was charged in an information with wire fraud. According to the information, Wallace was employed as the victim’s house cleaner. Between December 2021 and March 2022, Wallace stole the victim’s credit card information and continued using the card to make purchases for personal items after she stopped working for the victim. Wallace used the fraudulently obtained credit card information to purchase items totaling about $43,227.12.

In January, Shakira English, 23, of Birmingham, was charged in an 11-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. English was a hairdresser. According to the indictment, she maintained a payment-processing account with Square, Inc. that she used to charge customers’ credit or debit cards for payment. Between May 2020 and October 2021, English used her Square, Inc. account to fraudulently charge the victim’s credit cards over $130,000 and then transferred the funds into her personal bank account.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for wire fraud is 20 years in prison. The mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft is two years.

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