Woman, 48, spends two years posing as her 22-year-old daughter

A mother who stole her estranged daughter's identity to obtain loans and go to college, has pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud.

Laura A Oglesby, a 48-year-old mother from Missouri, used a stolen identity to enrol in a college, after applying for a fraudulent Social Security card in 2016.

Assistant Chief of the Mountain View Police, Stetson Schwien, said Oglesby had the "whole bit", in terms of fake documents and was even able to get a Missouri ID in her daughter's name, Lauren Ashleigh Hays.

“I have never seen an ID case like this at all, whether from fleeing from abuse or any other type,” Assistant Chief Schwien said according to NBC News.

In August 2018, Oglesby was arrested, for court bench warrants over financial fraud in the state of Arkansas and embezzlement of over $25,000 (around A$35,000).

"Laura Oglesby stole and assumed the identity of a 24 year old female named Lauren Ashleigh Hays and worked in Mountain View for over a year," the initial statement of the arrest written by the police said.

"Within that time she has obtained lines of credit, obtained funds from multiple colleges, and a drivers licence which she used under the name of Lauren Hays."

Dated men decades younger to appear 22

Residents in Mountain View believed Oglesby was 22, the Independent reported, saying she dated men who thought she was more than two decades younger than she really was.

On Monday, the Department of Justice said Oglesby had pleaded guilty.

By doing so, she was admitting to fraudulently applying for a Social Security card back in January 2016 and using the personal identity information of someone else.

In 2017, Oglesby used the fraudulent Social Security card of her daughter to enrol in university, where she applied for and received financial aid.

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Through financial aid, Oglesby obtained $9,400 ($A13,150) in federal student loans, $5,920 ($A8280) in Pell Grants, $337 ($A470) for books purchased at University A’s bookstore, and $1,863 ($A2,606) in finance charges.

In the plea agreement, Oglesby will pay $17,521 ($A24,510) in restitution to the university in addition to the restitution for her daughter.

While Oglesby has not been sentenced yet, she could face up to five years in prison.

Back in 2018, Schwien told KY3 Oglesby had "completely adopted a younger lifestyle", from her clothes, make up and personality.

"She had completely assumed becoming a younger person in her early twenties," he said.

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