The $5 Million Scam of a Greedy Shopaholic

Keisha Williams conned people out of their savings to live a life of luxury

In February 2018, Keisha Williams, age 43, was arrested for scamming several investors out of more than $5 million. She pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison.

When the FBI searched Keisha’s home, they found a shopaholic’s paradise of unworn designer shoes, clothing, and bags. Some of the items still had their original price tags on them.

Keisha would buy the expensive items, come home, and then throw them on the floor. She was extremely greedy and had no compunction about spending the money on luxury trips, five-star hotels, and designer goods.

Keisha had degrees in both electrical engineering and law and owned a consulting firm. With her highly educated background and the potential for a well-paid career, she did not need to resort to fraud. How was a seemingly charming woman able to scam more than 50 people out of their savings?

Scamming the Investors

In order to solicit millions of dollars from her victims, Keisha told them that she had paid for healthcare-related software in the field of telemedicine. The software would enable doctors to talks to patients remotely. She promised the investors that she could double their money from the software purchase.

She told the investors that the software was located in Austria and that it was placed in escrow because she owed taxes, fees, and debt over the software purchase.

She requested a short term loan from her victims to get the software out of escrow. For this, she collected more than $5 million from the investors but instead of spending the money on the software program, she blew the money on herself.

Keisha also recruited a business partner, Christian D. Andrade for the venture. Christian raised $4 million and also invested $1.4 million of his own money. He ended up losing his houses, car, and savings in the scam.

The judge who sentenced Keisha stated,

The way in which you spent this money is…appalling. — Judge Leonie Brinkema

Keisha blew the money on extravagant trips to Disney World, the Bahamas, and Europe and Asia. On her trips, she would rent the largest villas, stay at the Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf Astoria, and even bring along a personal chef. She spent money on designer stores like Chanel and Gucci.

Keisha was never humble about her ill-gotten riches. She bragged about staying in the biggest villas on her trip and would name-drop celebrities as well as have people waiting on her hand and foot.

Her victims weren’t just business investors. They also included a cancer patient, a widow, a teacher, and elderly people.

Keisha was also cold-hearted to her own family members. When her grandmother was sick, her mother made a request that she should call while she was on her trip. Keisha’s response was to say,

Me calling isn’t going to do anything. They need to send some money if they want me there.

Keisha had some of her business associates get in on the scam with her. Her business partner, Christian, was accused of aiding her. Christian was also charged with wire fraud by the authorities. He lied to the other investors on Keisha’s behalf about the cash flow and when they could expect to see returns on the investment.

Even worse, she recruited two other partners who posed as federal law enforcement officers and had them threaten some of her investors to hand over the money.

Keisha was able to get away with her scam for 4 long years. An investigation took place only after several small businesses complained that no work had been performed despite payments made to her consulting firm.

In January 2019, Keisha was sentenced to prison and also requested to pay back the $5 million that she had stolen from her victims. Twenty people testified against Keisha.

The victims’ impression of Keisha was that she was cold-hearted. However, on the stand, Keisha stated,

I believe I am a good person who made some bad choices.

She even referenced the Bible to say that she was a new and changed person.

Protection From Investor Scams

Keisha’s case is a lesson for all investors. For financial protection from scammers like Keisha, here are some tips.

A common theme of all investment scams is that the fraudster always promises high returns on the investment as an enticement. Keisha promised high returns to her inventors and they believed her because the field of telemedicine was poised to grow well into the future. However, the higher the promised return, the higher the chance of losing money.

A potential investor should always research the investment opportunity and be unafraid to ask questions about it. A second and third check with verified financial experts should be done on the company or agent. Keisha got away with her scam because she had her business partners lie on her behalf. A second or third check could have revealed the scam.

The investment should come from a registered company. In Keisha’s case, she was able to defraud her investors because the investment was based in Austria. Her US-based investors could not check the details of the investment and instead trusted her to do it on their behalf. Most scams occur from individuals and firms that are not licensed or registered.

As of December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has experienced an increase in investment frauds. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an opportunity for scammers. A lot of fraud companies have now claimed that they are dealing with services and products related to COVID-19.

The U.S. government website investor.gov has free search tools to check background, license, and registration requirements.

As for Keisha, her story has appeared on the CNBC program, “American Greed.”

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Insider, CNBC, The Daily Mail, First Alliance Credit Union Blog

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