Muscatine woman sentenced to federal prison for wire fraud

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - A Muscatine woman was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison for wire fraud.

Prosecutors say Kimberly Nicole Hollingshed, 37, intentionally and deliberately defrauded an insurance company under materially false pretenses. In February 2022, Hollingshed accessed her neighbor’s term life insurance policy and created an online profile for the policy without permission, according to prosecutors.

With online account access, Hollingshed made changes to the neighbor’s policy and added herself as a policy beneficiary.

The fraud continued in April when Hollingshed falsely reported the neighbor died and initiated the process to claim death benefits. In fact, the neighbor was alive when Hollingshed electronically uploaded and submitted a falsified death certificate to the insurance company and was paid $100,138.87 by the life insurance company.

Prosecutors said in that same period, Hollingshed used the fraudulent funds to buy three vehicles and other personal property.

She pleaded guilty in November to wire fraud in U.S. District Court, Davenport.

During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Hollingshed was ordered to pay restitution and must serve three years of supervised release once she completes her prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.