March 18, 2024

Woman pleads guilty to faking birth

BETTENDORF — A woman has pleaded guilty to federal charges in Davenport after faking a birth to collect child support payments from a man who thought he was the nonexistent child’s father. Johna Loreen Vandemore collected more than $100,000 over six years from the man who now lives in a Minneapolis suburb. She pleaded guilty this week to a federal mail fraud charge and awaits sentencing.

According to court records, Vandemore met the victim on an online dating website in 2007. She met him in person in Bettendorf and then again shortly thereafter in Waterloo.

Vandemore contacted the victim several months after their meeting and said she was pregnant. She convinced him to pay her $1,000 per month and sent him a fake birth certificate.