Visitors to our Hall of Shame are probably familiar with the saga of Kristi Heffington.
As hard as it is to believe, there is more. A woman named Jami Marie Peterson, also of Maryland, was convicted of a theft scheme, conspiracy to commit theft scheme, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit identity fraud for being Ms. Heffington's accomplice in various fraud schemes. The court transcripts reveal that Ms. Heffington and Ms. Peterson had made plans to open a bar together and that they needed money to do so. The transcript indicates that Ms. Heffington was the sister of Ms. Peterson's fiance.
(The main story on Ms. Heffington is HERE, a story about a friend of Ms. Heffington who was also indicted is HERE, and we placed a business, S.O.S. Dental Experts, for which Ms. Heffington appears to have some involvement, on our watchlist -- see story HERE.)
In May 2020, Jami Peterson's appeal of her convictions was denied. The appeals judge specifically highlighted that "the trial court indicated that it had the opportunity to observe Ms. Peterson and judge her credibility and that 'quite honestly I don't believe a word [she] said.' "
The appeal judge also highlighted Ms. Peterson's conflicting statements around her involvement with creating Care Credit accounts used by Ms. Heffington in the perpetuation of her fraud. Jami Peterson initially denied her involvement in the creation of these accounts but subsequently issued an "affidavit of correction" in which she did confirm her involvement.
Read the full decision HERE.
A search of Maryland Court Records reveals a number of other actions against Ms. Peterson including several lawsuits raised by her creditors.
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