Columbus woman faked her ID dozens of times to get loans, licenses. Now she faces prison
A Columbus woman accused of using other people’s identities to apply for driver’s licenses has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Investigators searching the home of 43-year-old Amanah Childs found driver’s license application and renewal paperwork, credit cards and other people’s mail after a rash of complaints about someone fraudulently applying for licenses.
They traced those applications to Childs, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud and to aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land set her sentencing for Aug. 29, at the federal courthouse in Columbus.
Childs faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and up to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.
Federal authorities said she also used others’ names to apply for federal loans. On 20 occasions she applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration, which rejected all but one application for suspected fraud.
She submitted 14 applications with others’ names, and six in her own name, claiming nonexistent businesses with fabricated gross revenues and other false information, the feds said.
Sgt. Jane Edenfield with the Columbus Police Department said the investigation began with 100 victims from around the country, including some in Columbus.
“Two search warrants of Childs’ residence, numerous arrest warrants and several court appearances later, we are getting to see justice achieved,” she said, thanking the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their aid.
According to court documents, police started getting complaints from people in 2021 about someone using a Columbus address to apply for driver’s licenses in their names. Investigators suspected this was a step toward fraudulently applying for credit cards. They found that Childs lived at the address, which led to her arrest.