Feds: Woman received nearly $100k for fake baby

A Maquoketa woman will spend 18 months in prison for collecting nearly $100,000 in child support payments for a baby she never had.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice for the Southern District of Iowa news release, in 2007, 34-year-old Johna L. Vandemore — aka Johna Volger and Johna Ratlif — was in a short-term relationship with the victim. After that relationship ended, Vandemore told the man she was pregnant.

Despite the fact that there was no child, Vandemore demanded a lump sum of financial support from the victim or she said she would take him to court, authorities said. The victim agreed to make monthly payments of $1,000, plus cover all child-related monthly expenses, according to the news release. Between August 2007 and October 2013, Vandemore received 90 separate payments totaling $95,850.

Authorities said when the victim requested a birth certificate, Vandmore provided a fake one from a non-existent hospital. When the victim requested pictures of his child, she sent him pictures of a family member's child. Vandemore also bilked the victim for more money by sending a fake medical bill for the non-existent child to the victim, according to the news release.

Vandemore's husband eventually discovered the ruse when he asked her about the monthly checks she was receiving, which she claimed were residual compensation from sales she made with Herbalife.

In addition to her 18-month sentence for mail fraud, Vandemore has been ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay the victim $95,850 in restitution.