COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus woman who stole the identity of a baby who died decades ago has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of wire and passport fraud.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio said 49-year-old Ava Misseldine entered her plea on Wednesday in federal court.
Misseldine stole the identity of the baby who died in 1979 and is buried in a Columbus cemetery. She used the infant’s identity to obtain a passport, a student pilot license, a job as a flight attendant and for pandemic relief loans.
In 2003, Misseldine applied for an Ohio ID and later a Social Security card and driver’s license using the stolen identity.
Misseldine then posed as the stolen identity to obtain the student pilot certificate and U.S. passport in 2007.
She submitted paperwork claiming she needed the passport to travel internationally in her occupation as a flight attendant for JetSelect where she was employed under the false identity.
Authorities said she continued to obtain identity documents in both her real and fake names over the next 13 years. An investigation was launched in 2021 when she tried to renew the fraudulent passport.
Misseldine obtained approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 using her real and fake identities.
Her loan applications list her businesses as various bakeries and catering companies, including her former bakeries Sugar Inc. Cupcakes & Tea Salon in Dublin and Koko Tea Salon & Bakery in New Albany and at Easton. She submitted forged documents to support her loan applications.
Misseldine used the pandemic relief loan money to purchase a home for $647,500 adjacent to Zion National Park in Utah and a home for $327,500 in Michigan.
In August and September 2021, Misseldine, after relocating to Utah, allegedly obtained driver’s licenses in both names.
In June, she was taken into custody in Utah.
As part of her plea, Misseldine will pay more than $1.5 million in restitution and forfeit her Utah home and profits from the sale of her Michigan residence.
Misseldine is facing up to 30 years in prison for wire fraud and 10 years for passport fraud.
