Christina Vaskovsky was just trying to not go to jail. In July of 2008, Vaskovsky was indicted for allegedly stealing $14,500 from her employer. And in a strategy, she may or may not have regretted (do fraudsters regret?), Vaskovsky didn’t appear at her trial scheduled in December 2008. As a result, a nationwide warrant was issued for her arrest. Now with no options that don’t entail jail time, Vaskovsky obtained a certified copy of a birth certificate in the name of a Lisa Beck, a child who was born the same year as her – but who died at age ten. Vaskovsky then obtained an Ohio driver’s license and Social Security card under the deceased child’s name. And her new life began. But a leopard can’t change its spots. And a fraudster hiding under a stolen identity can’t stop committing fraud.
For over fourteen years, Vaskovsky used the child’s identity for one scheme after another. She received more than $116,000 in Medicare benefits, $43,352 in Social Security benefits, $19,570 in food stamps and $11,663 in unemployment benefits. Vaskovsky also amassed $128,000 in debt under the child’s identity and then fraudulently discharged it in bankruptcy, the documents say. Vaskovsky also unsuccessfully applied for a pandemic relief loan. Which is amazing because it seemed like no one was unsuccessful in obtaining fraudulent pandemic relief loans!
In 2019, Vaskovsky was arrested along with her daughter for shoplifting in Kentucky. Fun family activity. On July 9, 2024, Vaskovsky was sentenced to 24 months in prison for stolen identity and government benefit fraud. Her attorney asked to allow Vaskovsky to self-surrender to prison at a later date then sentenced. Visnovsky had multiple medical issues that had been treated under the fake identity and she needed to go to between eight and 10 doctor’s offices to obtain her medical records. Those records will assist with her treatment in prison. The judge said he will get back to her.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Colerain Township woman used dead child’s identity to obtain $200K in government benefits” published by the Cincinnati Enquirer on July 9, 2024.
A woman who used the identity of a dead child for a decade and a half to obtain nearly $200,000 in government benefits was sentenced Tuesday to 24 months in prison.
Prosecutors say Christina Vaskovsky, 56, initially used the child’s identity to avoid an arrest warrant that was issued for her in 2008. Vaskovsky, of Colerain Township, also used the child’s identity to file for bankruptcy and unsuccessfully apply for a pandemic relief loan. In 2019, when Vaskovsky was arrested along with her daughter for shoplifting in Kentucky, she used the fake identity.
