A Black woman named Karen says she is being haunted and "plagued" by a white woman of the same name attempting to steal her identity.

Karen A. Clark, a white Missouri resident who allegedly stole the identity of a Black woman named Karen Y. Clark eight years ago, is now being held without bond after she was arrested last week. According to KTVI, Karen Y. Clark said the perpetrator stole her private information years ago after agreeing to assist in building her credit.

The accused identity thief, who was running a daycare at the time, was already a convicted felon while operating her business. She was found guilty of writing bad checks and sentenced to five years of probation in 2013 after scamming parents who used the daycare, KTVI reported.

Karen Y. Clark said creditors have been confusing her with the other Karen in the past eight years.

“I’m plagued,” she said. “It’s almost like a disease.”

Karen A. Clark now faces charges of passing bad checks, as well felony charges of stealing and forgery. She is listed in Missouri Department of Corrections records as having seven aliases. Her identities include Karen Ann Kendall, Karen Vehlewald, Karen Levenia Clark and Karen Ann Clark.

Karen Y. Clark said she is considering a name change.

“This name haunts me,” she said. “I think I want to go change my name to my middle name and go by Yvonne. Nobody uses that name.”

The identity theft victim hopes to see a stern punishment for the perpetrator.

“Picking her up is one thing, she’s been picked up three or four times before, but they need to make her suffer some consequences,” she said.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Karen A. Clark was also recently charged with stealing more than $30,000 from her employer while working as a bookkeeper for a St. Louis manufacturing company. The 49-year-old admitted to cashing 87 company checks to herself totaling $30,616.62 between December and March.

Stuart Zatlin, the owner of Star Binding Manufacturing Company, said he hired the former employee without completing a thorough background check.

As Blavity previously reported, the name Karen has taken on a different meaning in the past year, being used as a label to describe bitter, racist white women. Following the rise in racist incidents involving white women, filmmaker Coke Daniels is set to release a movie titled Karen, Paper Mag reported. The horror movie will feature actress Taryn Manning whose character harasses a young Black couple.

Karen Y. Clark

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