How's this for a nasty divorce tactic: Take your estranged spouse's ID and have someone else use it to obtain a $150,000 loan.
That's what authorities say happened in Warren County's Hamilton Township.
"You hear of a lot of bad things happening between estranged spouses, but this is one of the worst," said Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel.
Kerry Pickett, 46, is accused of
paying Holly Melling, 30, to use his wife's driver's license and pose as his wife while applying for a home-equity loan, Hutzel said.
Pickett and Melling each face a charge of identity fraud, a second-degree felony punishable by two to eight years in prison if they are convicted.
Melling and Pickett apparently met at a Dayton-area gentleman's club where Melling worked as an exotic dancer, officials said, and there was no reason to believe that they were boyfriend-girlfriend.
Hutzel said
the money, which the loan applicants had said they would use for home improvements, has been spent. She didn't know details of the purchases.
Warren County court records show Pickett's wife, Susan, filed for divorce in September; the case is pending. She learned about the loan and reported it to police, Braley said, adding, "
It was a complete fraudulent loan; it was proven that she had no involvement."
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