Woman charged in catfishing scheme that targeted her own daughter

A Michigan woman is accused of cyberbullying her daughter and another teen over the course of several months, during which she reportedly used virtual networks to implicate the minors’ peers as she sent taunting messages.

Kendra Gail Licari, 42, of Mt. Pleasant, allegedly used virtual private networks to send messages from where the teens were, and used texting slang to make the correspondence appear to have come from another young person, The Morning Sun reported.

Licari was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts on Monday following a year-long investigation that started with a Dec. 2021 complaint to Beal City Schools that Licari’s daughter and her then-boyfriend were being cyberbullied.

The harassment allegedly began in early 2021, Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi told the outlet.

At the time the report was made, Licari was employed by Beal City Schools as a girls’ basketball coach.

Barberi confirmed Licari and the other student’s mother cooperated with school officials in the initial investigation. Because most of the harassment did not take place on school property and did not use school devices, the district passed the complaint on to local law enforcement in Jan. 2022. 

Licari was eventually identified as the culprit in late spring, when FBI analysts identified her IP addresses as those used to send the cruel messages.

When confronted with evidence against her, Licari reportedly made a full confession. She is now facing two counts of stalking a minor, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and one count of obstruction of justice. Each charges carries the possibility of a 5-10 year penalty.

Neither the prosecutor’s office nor Beal City Schools’ Superintendent William Chilman immediately returned The Post’s requests for a comment.

While it is unclear what the catfishing messages contained, Barberi told The Morning Sun that his office has compiled 349 pages of text and social media correspondence implicating Licari. 

Licari was released on $5,000 bond following her arraignment Monday. She is due back in court on Dec. 29 to determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial.

Attempts to reach Licari on Friday were unsuccessful.