Texas woman sentenced for involvement in defrauding Lexington government of $4 million

A second person involved in a broad scheme to defraud the city of Lexington of nearly $4 million after posing as as a nonprofit was sentenced in federal court.

Shimea Maret McDonald, 25, of Texas, was sentenced Thursday to six years and eight months in federal prison. She originally faced 20 years in prison but was given a reduced sentence after pleading guilty. She is ordered to pay restitution of more than $4.6 million.

McDonald pleaded guilty in June for conspiracy to commit money laundering and a charge of aggravated theft.

She originally faced one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of providing fraudulent statements to a federally insured financial institution, and three counts of identity theft, according to court documents. Some charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

On Thursday morning, McDonald sobbed as U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell read aloud her sentence. She apologized to everyone impacted by the conspiracy, and said she “didn’t know what she was getting herself into.”

“I was so scared the first time I (committed fraud), that I threw up,” she cried. “When I got my first cut, I had never seen money like that before.”

Scheme led to investigation revealing 70+ intended victims

McDonald was part of a scheme that took $4 million from Lexington more than a year ago. In August 2022, co-conspirators emailed the city of Lexington pretending to be from the Community Action Council, convincing a city official to wire money owed to the non-profit organization into a bank account at Truist Bank that belonged to the conspirators, according to court documents.

Truist Bank and Lexington were able to recover all the city’s money, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. However, prosecutors said there were more than 70 intended corporate victims of the scam, with the earliest victim being identified in January 2021.

Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum that McDonald oversaw the theft of a real person’s identity, then used that identity to establish a shell company and bank accounts in the shell company’s name listing the identity theft victim as the signor. She then accepted and attempted to transfer the money stolen from the city.

“From January 29, 2021, until January 18, 2023, just days before her arrest, investigators identified approximately 46 victims sending money to McDonald’s bank accounts. And this is just the victims the United States has been able to identify,” the prosecutors’ sentencing memorandum read.

Of nearly 50 fake identity documents used by McDonald, prosecutors allege 24 belong to real people, according to court documents. Authorities found more than 40 fake identity cards when they searched McDonald’s house, according to her plea agreement.

Chelsea Holliday, a special agent with the FBI, testified that the identification cards “looked really good,” and “even as a law enforcement officer, I wouldn’t have known they were fake at first glance.”

The sentencing memorandum described McDonald as growing up in a middle-class family with her basic needs being met. She graduated with a high school diploma and beauty school certificate. She has been free from “physical health or substance abuse issues.”

McDonald had no prior criminal history, court records say.

“Although not free from some concerns, McDonald has enjoyed a stable life with significant opportunity to succeed. Rather than putting these opportunities to productive use, McDonald chose to take advantage of so many others and make money through fraudulent activity,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.

Caldwell said it was “disturbing and comforting” to know that McDonald was so smart, and encouraged her to further her education while she is in prison.

“It is sad to see a young person with no criminal history confronted with such serious consequences,” Caldwell said.

Others in the scheme

Nana Kwabena Amuah, a 30-year-old Ghana native, was sentenced to seven years in prison in November. He was said to be the leader of the crime operation.

Amuah pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering in June. He originally faced an additional charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud but the charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

He was indicted in January, according to court documents. In addition to the prison time, he was ordered to pay more than $4.7 million in restitution.

McDonald testified that without Amuah, she wouldn’t have known what to do, and that he physically abused her in some instances, which caused her to participate under duress.

Jean Mejia-Garcia had worked alongside Amuah and McDonald since 2021, according to court documents. He was recently indicted in September for conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft.

Mejia-Garcia was originally scheduled to have a jury trial take place on Jan. 16, according to court documents. However, he will now have a re-arraignment hearing on that day.