PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Alexandra Hatcher, 50, didn’t die in 2015. She vanished — by design — and launched a four-year, cross-country fraud spree that ripped off insurers, banks, and car dealerships out of millions. Today, she was sentenced to four years in federal prison for faking her own death and using the ruse to steal at least 20 luxury vehicles across multiple states.
Hatcher, alongside her husband Albert Hatcher Jr., 49, conspired to cash in on life insurance policies they’d taken out on her. In August 2015, she traveled to Washington state, legally changed her name, and declared herself dead. The couple submitted false death claims on at least two policies, backed by forged death certificates and a published obituary in the Daily Press. When insurers caught on and denied payment, they pivoted — from fraud to full-blown auto heist.
Using her new identity, Hatcher became a ghost with paperwork. She and her husband hit dealerships across the country, flashing counterfeit checks and forged documents to obtain high-end vehicles — BMWs, Lexuses, Cadillacs — all under false pretenses. They retitled the cars, flipped them for cash, or used them as collateral for loans. No dealership was safe. No document went unaltered. The scheme stretched from Virginia to the Pacific Northwest and back.
Investigators say the Hatchers treated vehicles like currency. They’d secure a car with a worthless check, retitle it under their assumed identity, then use the vehicle to back loans or trade for others. Some cars were resold outright to unsuspecting dealers. The fraud wasn’t just bold — it was industrial in scale, fueled by deception and a complete disregard for the law.
Alexandra Hatcher pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possessing and uttering a counterfeit security of an organization, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Her husband, Albert Hatcher Jr., entered the same plea and was sentenced to four years in prison on January 22. Both faced the same fate — behind bars, not by death, but by justice.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton and announced by Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar handed down the sentence. Court records, including Case No. 4:17-cr-48, are available via PACER and the Eastern District of Virginia’s federal court website.
Related Federal Cases
- Lindsay Kneff Indicted in $255K Real Estate Fraud Scheme · Washington
- DC Man Pleads Guilty to $1.9M Fraud Scheme · Washington
- Crystal Charmae Richards Indicted in $500K Tax Fraud Scheme · Washington
- Tony Bryant, Son and Tarkara Cooper Guilty in $20M Tax Fraud Scheme · Maryland
- Fort Worth Woman and Chicago Man Plead Guilty to Mystery Shopper Fraud Scheme · Mississippi
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News