A Philadelphia woman is facing three felony charges in Broward County court after authorities accused her of hatching a scheme to steal a COVID relief check meant for the city of Weston and proceeded to use portions of the proceeds to pay for a Brazilian butt lift and a Bal Harbour shopping spree, among other things.
According to court documents made public on Friday, Ashley Stibbins-Parker created a “City of Weston LLC” bank account in Georgia in order to deposit the stolen funds back in 2021.
Stibbins-Parker, 30, is being charged with organized fraud, money laundering and first-degree grand theft.
According to an an arrest warrant authored jointly by a Broward Sheriff’s Office detective and a special agent with the United States Postal Inspection Service, the case all stems from a $184,838.72 check issued on Feb. 12, 2021 by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners to the city of Weston.
The money, authorities said, was from COVID relief funds allocated through the federal CARES Act.
The check was mailed to Weston City Hall at 17200 Royal Palm Blvd., but never made it into the city’s coffers, the warrant states.
Instead, it found its way to a Bank of America account in Sandy Springs, Georgia — an Atlanta suburb — under the name “City of Weston LLC,” opened up on March 12, 2021, cops said.
Four days earlier, authorities said Stibbins-Parker, filed a fraudulent certificate of organization with the state of Georgia for “City of Weston LLC,” listing the principal office address as that of Weston City Hall.
Stibbins-Parker, however, was listed as both “registered agent” and “organizer,” with addresses in Philadelphia and Atlanta, respectively, the warrant states.
Authorities said Stibbins-Parker deposited the check on March 15.
The warrant doesn’t state exactly how Stibbins-Parker is alleged to have gotten her hands on it, but it notes that Weston City Hall was closed for the COVID pandemic and states that mail, at the time, was being deposited into a collection box outside of the building.
They said she withdrew more than $119,000 on March 24, sending $40,800 to a woman named Jerisha Coburn and $78,500 to a company called Selnik Development LLC, with the listed owner as Jahmari Christian Osani.
The warrant lists several Zelle transactions from March 26 to March 31, including $8,800 destined for an account connected to a Snellville, Georgia woman named Princess Ogumgbuaja.
It wasn’t immediately clear Friday if Coburn, Osani, Ogumgbuaja or anyone else had any knowledge of or will face any charges in connection with the alleged scheme.
Stibbins-Parker made a $27,000 withdrawal from the Sandy Springs Bank of America branch on March 27, authorities allege.
By March 30, Stibbins-Parker was evidently in South Florida, according to the warrant. An invoice from that date shows a $6,250 payment for a Brazilian butt lift at a Miramar plastic surgery center paid for by a Bank of America credit card assigned to “The City of Weston LLC Ashley Stibbens (sic),” authorities wrote.
Staff confirmed Stibbins-Parker was the patient, authorities said.
Stibbins-Parker would later withdraw a total of $1,400 from a Bank of America branch in Opa-locka on April 1 and 7, the warrant states.
On April 8 and 9, the warrant states that Stibbins-Parker used the illicit proceeds to buy plane tickets from Miami to Atlanta on Frontier and Southwest Airlines, respectively.
Authorities said she also spent the funds on hotel room bookings and a luxury shopping spree in Bal Harbour, with purchases made at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Wolford.
Bank of America would close the “City of Weston LLC” account on June 4, 2021, with a -$131,888.22 balance.
The warrant goes on to detail a controlled phone call authorities conducted with Stibbins-Parker on Oct. 19, 2023.
Court records show that Stibbins-Parker was recently arrested in Maryland and appeared in that state’s court on June 14, a little less than two weeks before she would be booked into the Broward County jail on Tuesday.
Those records show that she waived extradition proceedings.
As of Friday afternoon, Stibbins-Parker is being held in BSO’s Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach on a $200,000 bond, according to jail records. Those records show that she’ll have to show that any funds she may use to post bond come from a legitimate source.
A judge ordered Stibbins-Parker to not apply for a passport. She has pleaded not guilty in the case.
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Source: Local10
