Woman allegedly used stolen $184K COVID relief check to pay for butt lift, spending spree

PHILADELPHIA -- A Philadelphia woman is facing felony charges in Florida after investigators say she stole a COVID-19 relief check and went on a spending spree before she got caught.

Court documents obtained by WPLG say Ashley Stibbins-Parker created a "City of Weston LLC" bank account in Georgia so she could deposit the funds back in 2021.

A $184,838.72 check was issued on Feb. 12, 2021, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and was later mailed to Weston City Hall at 17200 Royal Palm Blvd. The money was allocated through the federal CARES Act.

But authorities say the check never made it there.

The money was deposited on March 15, 2021, into a Bank of America account in Sandy Springs, Georgia under the name "City of Weston LLC. The account opened up on March 12, 2021, investigators say.

Days before the funds were deposited, Stibbins-Parker is accused of filing a fraudulent certificate of organization with the state of Georgia for "City of Weston LLC." The address on the account was the legal address of the Weston City Hall in Florida. Documents say Stibbins-Parker was listed as a registered agent and organizer, with addresses in Atlanta and Philadelphia, where she had a registered driver's license.

Before investigators caught on to the scheme, Stibbins-Parker is accused of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars using cashier's checks, cash withdrawals, Zelle debits and a Mastercard tied to the fraudulent account.

On March 30, 2021, she allegedly spent $6,250 on a Brazilian butt lift at a Miramar plastic surgery center in Broward County using the stolen funds. Police say she also went on several plane trips, booked hotel rooms, went on a luxury shopping spree, and sent thousands of dollars to several people named in the arrest warrant.

According to court documents, the total estimated loss to Bank of America was $131,888.22.

It remains unclear how Stibbins-Parker got her hands on the check or if anyone else is facing charges in connection with the scheme.

Stibbins-Parker was arrested in Maryland and appeared before a judge on June 14. She was later extradited to Florida.

As of Friday, she remains behind bars at the Broward County jail on $200,000 bail.

She is facing several charges, including organized fraud, money laundering and first-degree grand theft.