A Georgia woman was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison on Friday in connection to a mother-son fraud scheme involving identity theft, stolen vehicles and a firearm.
Quinae Shamyra Stephens, 41, of Douglasville, Georgia, was convicted by a federal jury in South Carolina for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud; identity theft; aggravated identity theft; access device fraud; interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle; and felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
During her trial, the court rejected Stephens’ attempts to assert a sovereign citizen defense.
So-called sovereign citizens claim federal courts lack jurisdiction over individuals. The court acknowledged this was a "frivolous defense" that has been rejected throughout the country.
Stephens, who had already been prohibited from possessing the firearm and ammunition due to four state felony convictions for fraud-related crimes and was on probation for two of those offenses, allegedly abandoned a stolen U-Haul van nearly half a dozen states away from where it was due to be returned before August 2021.
The woman then decided to enlist her son, Deandre Copes, 23, also of Douglasville, "on a multi-state criminal journey to Florida," prosecutors said. With a loaded semi-automatic handgun in her waistband, Stephens traveled down the East Coast in a second stolen U-Haul van stocked with dozens of fraudulently obtained identities and the equipment necessary to steal more identities, make fake credit cards, and print bogus checks, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
She was ultimately caught in smalltown South Carolina by the Latta Police Department for suspicious behavior when she stopped near a bank.
A search of the van revealed more than a dozen identification documents – including several with Stephens’s picture in various names; a device for re-encoding credit cards with different account information; and more than 25 debit and credit cards, most in the name of individuals other than Stephens or her son, according to prosecutors.
Further forensics investigation by the Secret Service revealed that Stephens would download instructional material from the dark web related to credit card fraud and identity theft, and used software from the dark web to procure personally identifiable information.
The laptop also contained instructional material and files that could be used to create fake banking websites to steal account information.
"Identity theft is a threat to every citizen, and the personal information of its victims can live on the dark web forever. The nearly two-decade federal prison sentence this Office sought and received showcases just how seriously we take these crimes," U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs said in a statement. "Stephens’s conduct here was especially heinous. She was a four-time felon who enlisted her son in a multi-state fraud scheme involving stolen vehicles, false identities, the dark web, obstruction of justice, and a loaded weapon. I want to especially thank our local and federal partners who worked tirelessly to ensure the jury conviction and sentence in this case."
U.S. District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Stephens to 224 months in federal prison followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
Stephens was also ordered to pay restitution to her victims.
Her son, who testified at Stephens’ trial, was previously sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
At her sentencing, Stephens received sentencing enhancements for being a leader in the criminal enterprise and for obstruction of justice. The court also heard evidence that Stephens fraudulently obtained several Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in her name, and in the names of others.
