Woman’s new Lexus, fine jewelry was bought with money stolen from clients, feds say
Update: Ritchel Morehead was sentenced to a year and nine months in federal prison on April 7, 2022. A judge will determine how much she owes in restitution at a later date.
Ritchel Morehead convinced clients she had billions of dollars in the bank to back their loans, according to federal court documents.
In reality, prosecutors said, the 40-year-old Louisiana woman had just shy of $6,000.
Morehead is accused of convincing at least six victims in California, Oregon and Georgia that she could supply them with multimillion-dollar loans in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in fees up front. Prosecutors said the loans never materialized, and Morehead instead spent the cash on a new car and jewelry before trying to hide it in bank accounts overseas.
She pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of Louisiana on Wednesday, Jan. 5, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Morehead, who is from Covington, Louisiana, faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of loss to her victims. Defense attorneys representing her did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Jan. 6.
According to a grand jury indictment, Morehead owned a Texas company called Chel Corporation. She was introduced to someone from New Jersey — identified in court filings as “individual 2” — who sought funding sources for large loans, which Morehead claimed she could fund through Chel Corporation, prosecutors said.
From December 2018 to February 2019, she reportedly entered contracts with six clients seeking loans of up to $100 million.
Morehead told the clients she needed money up front that she referred to as “binder fees and costs,” prosecutors said. Those fees ranged from $20,000 to $300,000.
In an effort to convince the victims she had the capital to back their loans, Morehead is accused of sending forged bank statements that showed she had between $1.2 billion and $3 billion with an average ledger balance of $17 billion. But prosecutors said Chel Corporation’s account actually had $5,800 with an average ledger balance of $902.
Morehead never gave the victims a loan, the government said. Instead, she spent the so-called binder fees on a $55,000 Lexus and at two jewelry stores in Los Angeles, court documents state.
She’s also accused of transferring at least $254,700 to a bank account in the Philippines.
A grand jury indicted Morehead on seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of making false statements in January 2021, court documents show.
As part of her plea agreement, Morehead agreed to pay $460,000 in restitution. Prosecutors said the government has seized about $190,000 from her already.
She’s scheduled to be sentenced April 6.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Woman’s new Lexus, fine jewelry was bought with money stolen from clients, feds say."
