When private investigator Sharon F. Weidenfeld learned of the strange identity theft that caused Baltimore prison officials to mistakenly ban an Annapolis lawyer, she wasn?t surprised.
The same thing had happened to her.
“I was shown a letter that said I have been banned,” Weidenfeld said. “Somebody stole my identity.”
State investigators have accused a Reisterstown woman, Tiffany Gwen Weaver, 29, of impersonating an attorney to have sex with an inmate.
State investigators recently informed Weidenfeld, who runs the Annapolis-based Investigative Enterprises, that Weaver had also attempted to steal her identity when Weaver tried to enter the Jessup Correctional Institution.
“I was shocked to find out I was banned,” Weidenfeld said. “It?s an important part of my job to get into the prisons and interview clients and witnesses.”
Investigators told Weidenfeld that Weaver had presented prison authorities with Weidenfeld?s business card, but had been denied access to the Jessup facility.
Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the prison system, said she was researching the incident to determine whether Weidenfeld?s ban would be lifted after Weaver?s arrest.
In the first reported case of identity theft, investigators say Weaver presented prison guards with a fake Maryland State Bar Association Security Identification Pass with her photo attached to the name of Amanda Sprehn of the Annapolis law firm Hyatt, Peters & Weber on Nov. 13.
Weaver visited inmate Jason Moody at Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center and, once alone with him in a room for attorney-client visits, began engaging in sexual intercourse with him and was observed by jail officials, investigators said.
Sprehn was out on maternity leave when she learned of the identity theft from her law firm after prison officials sent her bosses a letter saying she was banned from the prison.
After prison investigators spoke with Sprehn?s law firm, they realized the business card and security pass Weaver presented were fakes, according to charging documents.
Weaver now faces seven charges stemming from the incident, including forgery of the security pass, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. She could not be reached for comment.
