November 1, 2007
100G CON RAP HITS U. PHONY
COLUMBIA FUGITIVE HUNT
By LUKAS I. ALPERT
The cunning co-ed who duped Ivy League colleges into enrolling her has been indicted in South Carolina for stealing the identity of a missing woman to attend Columbia University, officials said yesterday.
Esther Elizabeth Reed, 29, was charged with stealing more than $100,000 in financial aid by attending Columbia's School of General Studies as Brooke Henson from August 2004 through July 2006, according to a federal indictment.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Reed on Sept. 12, but was kept under seal along with the indictment until this week. Reed - a high-school dropout from Montana - disappeared in July 2006 after authorities caught wind of her scam and has been on the lam ever since.
"We haven't caught up to her yet, but she is considered a fugitive now, and that changes everything," said a federal law-enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Henson has been missing from Travelers Rest, S.C., since 1999. While officials don't believe Reed had anything to do with Henson's disappearance, they said they were hopeful that the indictment, and an upcoming feature on "America's Most Wanted" airing Saturday, would help bring the stubborn case to a close.
"Esther has brought new attention to our case and that certainly is a helpful thing, but at the same time she has been a distraction," said Travelers Rest Police Investigator Clark Brashier. "The family's concern is finding Brooke, but if Esther leads to us to that, then it's a good thing."
The indictment detailed the elaborate method Reed used while traveling across the country - and attending Harvard and Cal State Fullerton under other names - to procure the necessary documents to assume Henson's identity and obtain credit cards in her name.
Authorities believe Reed managed to get access to Henson's missing-person file through a database shared among law-enforcement agencies. Using the missing woman's Social Security number and date of birth, Reed began by obtaining an Ohio identification card on Oct. 29, 2003.
In December 2003, she got a high-school equivalency diploma in Ohio in Henson's name.
The following May - while still posing as Henson - Reed took the SAT in California and used the score to apply to Columbia.
She was accepted to the School of General Studies and began attending in August 2004, the indictment said. For the next two years, she received financial aid to pay for her classes.
The next step Reed took to effectively become Henson came on Feb. 24, 2005, when, using her Ohio and Columbia IDs, she applied to the South Carolina Department of Vital Statistics for a copy of the missing girl's birth certificate.
She was successful and had it sent in March to a UPS store mailbox in Northampton, Mass., registered in Henson's name.
In April 2005, using the birth certificate, she applied for a U.S. passport in Henson's name.
Reed - who was registered as a missing person herself after last being seen by her family in 1999 in Seattle - came to authorities' attention in July 2006, when she applied for a job as Henson and the prospective employer found a Web site listing her a missing person.
Police approached Reed soon after. She at first claimed she was Henson, then fled town and has not been heard from since.
A Columbia spokesman said he could not discuss the case, citing federal student-privacy laws.