Woman appears in court for alleged involvement in fraudulent divorce scheme

VERMILION PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- A woman accused of impersonating a man's wife in a scheme to file fraudulent divorce papers had a court appearance in Vermilion Parish on Thursday.

LaShonda Pope had her court appearance before Judge Thomas Fredrick. She faces a charge of first-degree injuring of public records. If convicted, she could be sentenced to five years imprisonment, with or without hard labor, or fined $5,000, or both.

The man's wife, Teqela Mouton-Francis, did not attend Pope's court appearance due to a family emergency but said she is “ready for justice to be served and to get my life back in peace." 

Francis and her husband have been married for 12 years in November and have two children together. Francis said in June that she thought their marriage was doing well until she learned of the alleged incident.

In a voice recording shared with News 10, Francis said Pope tells her, "You have been divorced it's public record.” It continues as she curses Francis, adding, “Guess what you see that ring, guess what I'm about to be married to him next. So you can get ready. I'll get you an invitation."

Francis now lives in Texas and has been traveling back and forth to the Acadiana region to gather information on how the alleged divorce could have occurred. She never received a subpoena nor was present in any court proceedings for the alleged divorce, she said.

“My husband did not contact me, told me anything about he wanted to divorce me. He didn’t tell me that he filed for a divorce. If he wanted a divorce, I would have given it to him,” she said in June. 

Pope declined a request for an interview but directed News 10 to speak with her attorney, who she claims is Alfred F. Boustany III. When News 10 contacted Boustany, they would not confirm she was their client as they needed her mission to release information.

The attorney shown on court records is Lynden Burton. News 10 contacted Burton's office but has not yet received a response.

Pope's next court date is scheduled for Nov. 6 at 9 a.m.

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