Miami Woman Charged with Assuming Dead Sister's Identity to Get Housing

A Florida woman has been charged with posing as her dead sister to have taxpayers pay her rent in Miami through a federal public housing program for low-income residents.

Authorities arrested Shadaryl Eddie, in the Oakland Park area of the city earlier this week and charged her with illegal use of a personal identification and grand theft between $5,000 and $10,000 for fraudulently obtaining a public housing voucher, according to court documents filed in Broward County and reported by the Daily Mail.

On March 12 of 2025 Eddie allegedly presented to the landlord the voucher using her sister’s birth certificate and Social Security card, according to her arrest report.

To the landlord’s surprise, four months later he received a letter from the housing authority stating he owed $8,357 for Eddie’s rental on the grounds the voucher was invalid and had apparently been illegally obtained.

Law enforcement then stepped in and discovered that the identity used was Eddie’s sister, who passed away on December 11, 2024, according to the arrest report.

With the voucher’s disqualification the landlord lost not only the rental income, he had to pay back the program’s voucher assistance he’d received. He also incurred legal costs to evict Eddie, resulting in a total loss of at least $11,000, according to the report.

Eddie was evicted over the summer, relocated to a different address but now resides in custody at the Broward County Jail.

Had the alleged fraud continued, taxpayers would still be funding Eddie’s rental if she stayed at the Miami address. The housing authority is funded by tax dollars. Housing Choice Vouchers, also commonly called Section 8, provide rental assistance to those with disabilities, low-income families and elderly individuals.

Landlords enter into agreements with the housing authority to get their units designated as Section 8. A tenant’s rent is then paid directly to the landlord by the government.

For applicants to take advantage of the rental assistance program they must meet low income limits, provide a government-issued ID, Social Security card, birth certificate, proof of residency and proof of the income they claim, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Eddie could face three years’ imprisonment for criminal use of a personal ID and up to five years for grand theft upon conviction, the charges considered felonies.

She is being held in Broward County Jail without bail and has not yet entered a plea or retained an attorney or been assigned a public defender, the Mail reported.

Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.