Former Bakery Owner Gets 6-Year Sentence for Stealing Deceased Baby's Identity and $1.5 million Relief Funds

A former Columbus bakery owner who stole a deceased baby's identity, and $1.5 million in pandemic relief funds has been sentenced to six years in prison by a judge on Tuesday.

Ava Misseldine, aged 49, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of wire and passport fraud. 

She used the identity of an infant named Brie Bourgeois, who passed away in 1979 and is buried in a Columbus cemetery, to get a passport, a student pilot license, a job as a flight attendant, and pandemic relief funds.

Misseldine managed to use this fake identity for over a decade, even during a federal bankruptcy hearing in 2014. 

An investigation started in 2021 when she attempted to renew her passport, which raised suspicions of potential fraud.

She acquired $1.5 million in relief funds by using both her real and fake names, according to court records. 

Misseldine also purchased homes in Utah and Michigan, but as part of her restitution, she will have to forfeit the Utah home and return the funds from the recent sale of the Michigan house.

Misseldine's attorney stated that she is remorseful for her actions and plans to repay the restitution through the sale of the Utah home. 

She has also expressed her intention to participate in counseling while in prison and continue a prison ministry/bible study program she initiated during her time at the Butler County Jail.

In another news, an Illinois man has received a life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife after he shot her 14 times. See detailed story here

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