Missouri News

Woman charged in fleeing US pleads guilty to identity theft

(KANSAS CITY, Kan., AP) — A Lawrence woman accused of fleeing to Europe with her two daughters has pleaded guilty to forging her ex-husband’s signature on official documents when she fled.

Thirty-three-year-old Samantha Elmer pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors say Elmer forged her husband’s signature on a document to obtain passports for their 9- and 11-year-old daughters.

Authorities say Elmer took the girls in October and boarded a flight from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to Vienna, via Istanbul, ahead of a custody hearing and a trial on theft charges in Missouri.

The girls were reunited in December with their father, who lives in Smithville, Missouri.

A sentencing hearing for Elmer will be scheduled later. She faces a maximum of two years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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