Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ashley Anne Ratliff, 37, was arrested yesterday and charged with five felonies, including grand theft over $20k, fraud over $50k, and using someone else’s identity over 20 times without consent after allegedly making over 500 fraudulent purchases using her ex-husband’s bank account.

On December 9, 2022, Ratliff’s ex-husband reported to Alachua County Sheriff’s Office that approximately $97,000 had been stolen from his bank account between May 27 and November 30 of that year; he and Ashley Ratliff had finalized their divorce on May 25.

The investigation found that 95 of the transactions were payments from the victim’s bank accounts to Ashley Ratliff with Zelle, and the rest were made using a PayPal account that Ashley Ratliff had previously connected to her husband’s bank account while they were married.

The investigation also found that Ashley Ratliff established an online banking account using her ex-husband’s personal information and her contact information.

Additional charges of accessing a computer network without authority and using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony were related to Ashley’s Ratliff’s alleged transactions through the online bank account with her phone. The investigator alleged that the 500 fraudulent transactions displayed a “systemic, ongoing course of conduct,” leading to a charge of organized fraud.

The victim reportedly told a deputy that he had confronted Ashley with the thefts in November 2022 and asked her to reimburse the $4,000 in purchases that he knew about at that time. He said she was remorseful, admitted it was wrong to use his bank account, and paid the $4,000.

Post Miranda, Ashley Ratliff reportedly admitted using her ex-husband’s information to access his bank account and to link his bank account to her PayPal account. She reportedly admitted withdrawing about $30,000 from the victim’s account.

Ashley Ratliff has no criminal history, and Judge Meshon Rawls ordered her released on her own recognizance.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.