Five Individuals Charged in Elder Fraud Scheme, Including Two In-Home Caretakers

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Five individuals have been charged in an elder fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

In March, a twelve-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charged Mykia Henderson, 32, of Moody, Cynthia H. Mixon, 50, of Fairfield, and Corey Webb, 44, of Moody, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, between December 2020 and February 2022, Mixon and Henderson, who are mother and daughter, were the caretakers for the elderly victim. Corey Webb was Henderson's husband. During this time, the three defendants devised a scheme to defraud the victim by charging the victim's credit cards through accounts set up by Square, Inc. and Stripe, Inc., issuing checks to themselves drawn on the victim's bank accounts, and transferring the funds they received to their own personal bank accounts.

Two additional defendants have also been charged related to this scheme.

In March, Whitney Wallace, 33, of Birmingham, was charged in an information with wire fraud. According to the information, Wallace was employed as the victim's house cleaner. Between December 2021 and March 2022, Wallace stole the victim's credit card information and continued using the card to make purchases for personal items after she stopped working for the victim. Wallace used the fraudulently obtained credit card information to purchase items from Amazon.com, Target.com, and DoorDash in the amount of approximately $43,227.12.

In January, Shakira English, 23, of Birmingham, was charged in an eleven-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. English was a hairdresser. She maintained a payment-processing account with Square, Inc. that she would use to charge customers' credit or debit cards for payment. Between May 2020 and October 2021, English used her Square, Inc. account to fraudulently charge the victim's credit cards over $130,000 and then transferred the funds into her personal bank account.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for wire fraud is 20 years in prison. The mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft is two years.

The Mountain Brook Police Department and FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan S. Rummage is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.