Missouri Mom Steals Daughter's Identity To Land Loans, Go To College & Have Some Fun

After spending two years living under the identity of 22-year-old estranged daughter, a 48-year-old mom's life of dating younger men and ripping off money from the federal student loan program, the gig was up for Laura Oglesby. According to a report from the New York Times and TotalFratMove.com, the middle-aged mom had stolen her daughter's Social Security card information and transformed herself into a 22-year-old who deployed social media filters to change her look and life. Monday, Oglesby pleaded guilty in federal court to intentionally providing false information to the Social Security Administration.

“Everybody believed it,” Mountain View (MO) Police Chief Jamie Perkins told the Times. “She even had boyfriends that believed that she was that age: 22 years old.”

Laura's fake life started in 2016 when she got a Social Security card in her daughter's name. At that point, mom was 43 and ready to start living her best life.

She became Lauren Hays, age 22.

There was a Snapchat account. There were filters to make it appear she was 22. There was the dating scene. “She had completely adopted a younger lifestyle: clothing, makeup and personality. She had completely assumed becoming a younger person in her early 20s,” Mountain View Detective Stetson Schwien told TV station KY3 back in 2018.

But there was more. There was a driver's license. There were college classes. $9,400 in student loans. Nearly $6,000 in Pell grants. There was a job at a library using her daughter's identity. Multiple W2s. A vehicle title. Cellphones. Bank accounts.

Missouri mom Laura Oglesby during her 22-year-old Snapchat days

She moved in with a couple after telling them about being in a domestic violence situation and how she needed help.

The bizarre situation eventually unraveled for Laura Oglesby when police in Arkansas jumped on a financial fraud case filed by Oglesby's estranged daughter. One thing led to another and the gig was up for Laura.

Now she faces up to five years in federal prison without parole for her crime. She must also repay $17,521 to Southwest Baptist University and to her biological daughter.

As for the Snapchat account, there's no word if she has applied a filter to her mugshot to appear like a 22-year-old criminal. Stay tuned.

Missouri identity thief Laura Oglesby / Mountain View Police Department