Newport News woman sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for mail fraud and identity theft

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A Newport News woman was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison Friday for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft involving the filing of unemployment insurance claims in the names of prison inmates and others.

From May 2020 to October 2021, Lakeia Shepperd, 40, planned to defraud the expanded unemployment eligibility by using the personal information of inmates and others to file fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits, falsely attesting that the beneficiaries were ready, willing, and able to work, and that they lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

Grant filed fraudulent claims with VEC for inmates and coordinated to obtain, transfer, and expend proceeds. She conspired with inmate recruiters to obtain inmates’ personal information to file the claims. She also filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims for non-inmates by using stolen personal information or in exchange for a percentage of money obtained by the applicants.

Grant and her co-conspirators filed around 38 unemployment insurance claims in inmates’ names, resulting in payments totaling roughly $546,576 in benefits. The commission recovered some of the funds, leading to a loss of $480,392.76. Her co-conspirators and she also applied for at least four successful claims for non-inmates, resulting in an additional loss of $107,670.

Grant is a five-time convicted felon. In November 2005, she was convicted of obstruction of justice and petit larceny in Newport News Circuit Court after she was caught shoplifting.