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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn Indianapolis woman received a 34-year prison sentence on Thursday for a scheme to sell vacant homes in which she had no ownership interest.
An investigation by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office found that Shela Amos, 57, had led victims to believe that they were legitimately purchasing vacant homes that Amos did not actually own. In total, victims paid Amos more than $24,000 for six homes, prosecutors said.
“Shela Amos was a scam artist who preyed upon naive members of our community, cloaking her activities under the phony authority of being an alleged sovereign citizen,” Prosecutor Terry Curry said in a prepared statement.
Amos was convicted by a jury in April of multiple felony counts of corrupt business influence, burglary, theft and forgery, in connection with the scheme.
In sentencing, prosecutors argued that Amos had a criminal history and that she would victimize others in the future if not given a lengthy sentence.
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