Merrill woman charged with falsifying documents and trying to gain child support for baby who doesn't exist
WAUSAU − A woman suspected of trying to get child support for a child who doesn't exist but had a birth certificate and Social Security card is facing felony charges in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Debra Ann Christie, 67, of Merrill, is facing charges of forgery of an official certificate, fraudulent writings and attempted identity theft for financial gain. Marathon County Circuit Judge Scott Corbett set a $5,000 cash bail for Christie, who has an indigency hearing on Thursday.
According to the criminal complaint, Christie went to the workplace of a man and delivered a document addressed to his wife. The document appeared to be a summons for a civil paternity case electronically signed by a Dane County judge. The documents ordered the man to pay a percentage of his monthly wages for child support to a woman named Debi Wendt, according to the complaint.
The man went to police and they knew Christie used an alias of Wendt, according to the complaint. They contacted Marathon County Social Services about the issue and got a subpoena for any documents they had involving Wendt. Among the documents was a "Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement" that appeared to be signed by Wendt and the man and notarized by a woman named Amy Schumacher, according to the complaint.
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The man said he believed the child didn't exist. There were, however, a Social Security card and birth certificate, according to the complaint. Social Services said police would have to contact the Wisconsin Vital Records Office for more information.
The officer contacted the state agency and learned the records involved a home birth. The officer got a subpoena for the records. Among the documents was a U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth form that listed the birthplace of the baby as Irma in Lincoln County. The mother's name was listed as Wendt, but the name prior to her first marriage was listed as Christie, according to the complaint. The man's name was listed as the father on the certificate.
Although the certificate listed the birth as having taken place in Irma, the Verification of Birth Unattended by a Healthcare Professional Form listed the birthplace as the town of Skanawan in Lincoln County. The documents identified Shannon Wendler as a midwife and gave her Wausau address. When the officer checked with Marathon County Dispatch, he learned the address was not valid in the city of Wausau. The officer saw the signatures of Wendt and the midwife appeared to be written by the same person, according to the complaint.
The Worksheet for Reporting Medical Information stated the baby's birthplace was in the Oneida County town of Nokomis. The form also had a Social Security number for Wendt that was associated with two different males in Illinois. The man's name was listed as Wendt's spouse.
Officers noted that on the Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement form, the signatures of Wendt, the man and the notary all looked like they were written by the same person. The officer did a search on the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions website and found that no one named Amy Schumacher was or ever had been a public notary in the state.
Detectives served a search warrant on Christie's home Feb. 1. Christie would not talk to the officers and asked for a lawyer. Inside the home, detectives found a notary stamp for Amy Schumacher, a large number of liquid spores for hallucinogenic mushrooms, two firearms and identifying documents for other males.
Christie also faces a charge in Lincoln County for attempted simulation of a legal process to claim payment. She's free on a $1,000 signature bail in Lincoln County.
If convicted of the Marathon County charges, Christie faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Contact Karen Madden at (715) 345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Merrill woman charged with trying to gain child support for nonexistent baby
