Jessica Simpson Victim Of Identity Scam
A 23-year-old public relations intern who knew a lot of details about Jessica Simpson’s personal life got caught last week posing as the star’s publicist and friend Cacee Cobb in order to get free stuff. The New York Daily News reports that Courtney Handel created an e-mail account as Cobb and used it to get everything from seven pairs of Frye boots to Lacy Bosom Cupcake bras by telling vendors, “Jessica just loves your products.”
Police in East Rutherford, New Jersey, say that one vendor grilled Handel about details of Jessica’s personal life and tour schedule to make sure she was the real deal. They say Handel was smart enough to pass that test, but not smart enough to realize that having the swag sent to her home would lead police to her door. Cops received a tip from security personnel at Jessica’s record label about Handel, and a detective said that when they arrived at her door on Friday (July 22), “UPS pulled up with 12 more packages. We turned to each other and said, ‘If only all our cases could be this easy.'”
Meanwhile, Simpson’s manager and father, Joe Simpson, told People magazine that despite the rumors, her marriage to Nick Lachey is strong. Daddy Simpson says, “Do they fight? Hell yes, they fight. Have there been moments when Nick has wanted to leave Jessica or Jess has wanted to leave Nick? Absolutely.” Simpson went on to say that fighting is normal in any marriage: “If fighting is a sign of divorce, then we’re all going to get divorced. My wife and I have been married 27 years. We’ve been at the edge of divorce for 26 of them.”
Simpson’s major film debut, the Dukes Of Hazzard, comes out August 5, and she has begun work on her next album. She said that she learned from Lachey how to handle success: “Nick has really taught me to be very, very humble. Because Nick and I started dating when he was at the peak of his career. And we stared dating and I hadn’t even had a single out yet. I learned the ways of being a celebrity through my husband.”