St. Louis County Woman Accused of Three Different Frauds

ST. LOUIS - A woman from St. Louis County, Missouri was indicted Wednesday and accused of aiding a romance fraud conspiracy and committing a nearly $40,000 pandemic relief loan fraud as well as a separate mortgage fraud.

Shirley Waller, 42, was indicted on three counts of wire fraud, two counts of mortgage fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and use of an assumed name to commit mail fraud.

The indictment accuses Waller of applying for and receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $19,235 for a Michigan business in 2021, as well as a second loan for a St. Louis resale shop. Waller used the proceeds of the first loan on personal flights to Ghana, Germany and Jamaica instead of approved business purposes, the indictment says.

On May 14, 2022, Waller applied for a home loan of more than $196,000 by lying about her marital status, salary and job and by submitting counterfeit W-2 forms and paystubs, the indictment says.

Finally, the indictment accuses Waller of aiding scammers who tricked a 71-year-old St. Louis County woman into believing that she was in an online relationship with a U.S. military surgeon deployed overseas. Scammers told the victim to send $30,000 in cash to Waller's address, the indictment says. The shipment was tracked on its journey by several IP addresses in Nigeria. In a two-week period, at least 35 Express Mail shipments sent to Waller's address by other victims were also tracked by Nigerian IP addresses, the indictment says. Waller would open the packages and forward the cash to others via cryptocurrency transactions and other means, it says.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

"The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation's mail system from illegal use. With the collaborative efforts of our federal law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others in order to enrich themselves. Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims, including the multiple individual consumer and business victims in this investigation," said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

Each mail theft charge carries a potential penalty of up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Town and Country Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.