Ericka King, who was arrested for fraud alongside Shirley Strawberry’s ex-husband, Earnest “Ernesto” Williams, pled guilty as part of a plea deal on Monday.
Williams and King are accused of stealing over $750,000 from victims in the Atlanta area.
King pled guilty in court as part of a plea deal on Monday morning. She agreed to testify against Williams in his upcoming RICO trial.
She was sentenced to 10 years with 9 years dismissed and 1 year to serve on probation. She received credit for time served in jail.
Afterward, she spoke to Channel 2‘s Ashli Lincoln, saying she was pressured and manipulated by Williams, who she referred to as her “boss”.
King said, “I had my boss putting an insurmountable amount of pressure on me.”
“If you read the indictment, it clearly says I was solicited and coerced. I was picked out,” King told Lincoln.
King did not want her face shown on television because she agreed to testify against Williams (watch video below).
In a 35-page indictment, prosecutors said Williams “knowingly illegally” married Steve Harvey’s co-host, Shirley Strawberry, “for financial gain.”
Strawberry, 70, was not aware that her husband was still married to his first wife when she tied the knot with Williams.
Using his newfound influence and celebrity connections, Williams and King stole $750,000 from at least 25 victims.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Williams has been “conning people from 2009 to 2022.”
Willis said King went to great lengths to cover for Williams, even posing as his lawyer in court. King does not have a law degree.
She allegedly posed as an attorney named April Holloway. The real Ms. Holloway was in court to hear King’s guilty plea on Monday.
“I’m a solo practitioner. My name is everything. We don’t know where else she’s used my name,” Holloway told the court. “I really hope that the defendant chooses not to do this to anyone else again.”
Williams has been in jail since his arrest in a million-dollar fraud scheme in 2022.
