Julie A. Cooper, 48, posed as a homeless plaintiff in a lawsuit she said stemmed from her use of an intrauterine device. She told the victims they would share in a judgment of at least $102 million that she was going to win.

The grand jury indicted Cooper, a former Minnesotan, on a charge of wire fraud in taking about $800,000 from 11 people in Minnesota. Some of the victims are hearing-impaired.

The indictment gave this account of Cooper's alleged scheme, which began in November 1994 and continued until at least Jan. 26, 2005:

She told the victims that she needed money to pay attorney's fees, lodging expenses and travel expenses from Ohio to Rochester, N.Y., where she said the case was being tried.

When victims who had already given her money hesitated to send more, Cooper told them they would receive nothing for their previous investments in the suit if they didn't continue to pay her.

Cooper at times posed as a different woman or as her two daughters to vouch for the existence of the suit and confirm her need for money to keep it going.

As part of her scheme to defraud by appearing to be indigent, she told victims that she was living in a motel and using "Ann Smith's" telephone. Instead, she owned a home in Columbus.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, Cooper, also known as Ann Smith and Julie Hamilton, lived in Minnesota about 10 years ago.

By Margaret Zack, Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5691922.html