Woman accused of assuming ID

GREENVILLE, S.C. --- Esther Elizabeth Reed is accused of stealing Brooke Henson's identity in 2003 and posing as the missing woman to obtain false identification documents, take a high school equivalency test and get into one of the nation's top universities.

Ms. Reed was indicted last year and made her first court appearance Monday on federal charges of identity theft, mail and wire fraud and obtaining false identification documents. A magistrate entered a plea of not guilty to all the charges. Ms. Reed, 29, was arrested earlier this month in Chicago.

Investigators have said they don't think Ms. Reed had anything to do with Ms. Henson's 1999 disappearance.

During the 10-minute hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins gave what prosecutors believe is a chronology of Ms. Reed's crimes involving Ms. Henson's identity, including: obtaining an Ohio ID card using her name, date of birth and Social Security number; getting a high school equivalency degree; taking a California college entrance exam, then applying to Columbia University; attending Columbia; getting more than $100,000 in student loans; applying for a duplicate birth certificate in South Carolina; and getting a U.S. passport.

Ms. Reed faces a $1 million fine and 47 years in prison.