United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

IDENTITY THIEVES SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON

Credit and Debit Card Numbers Stolen from
Shell Gas Station in Forest Hill, Texas

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that Tarrant County, Texas, residents, Melvin Lashawn Jones, Erica Deniece Washington and Jenifer Schmile Perkins were sentenced today by the Honorable John McBryde, United States District Judge, for their role in an identity theft scheme they operated in Forest Hill, Texas. Jones and Perkins each pled guilty in October to one count of mail fraud and Washington pled guilty in October to one count of fraud in connection with access devices.

Judge McBryde sentenced Jones, age 26, to 51 months imprisonment; Perkins, age 22, to 24 months imprisonment; and Washington, age 22, to 30 months imprisonment. Each defendant was ordered to pay approximately $28,000.00 in restitution and each defendant was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on March 3, 2006.

According to documents filed in the case, from May to August 2005, Melvin Lashawn Jones purchased fraudulently obtained credit/debit card account numbers from co-defendant Erica Deniece Washington, who was an employee of a Shell Oil gas station located in Forest Hill, Texas. She obtained these account number from “manager reports” that were generated at the gas station and they included credit/debit card account information from customers that purchased gas and other products and services using their credit/debit cards. Washington admitted that she obtained Shell Oil customers’ credit/debit card account numbers from these “manager reports.”

Jones admitted that he used the account information to order various merchandise on the internet at Amazon.com. Jenifer Schmile Perkins and Jones lived together at a property she leased. She knew of Jones’ criminal activity and assisted him by allowing him to use her computer and residence to order the merchandise. Perkins also caused Jones to order items for her, knowing that the items would be obtained by using stolen credit card account information and directed the orders be shipped to their residence on Cibolo Drive in Fort Worth and to other residences belonging to members of their families, including Jones’ grandmother. Jones and Perkins received shoes, clothes, and DVD movies and pawned several of the items they received.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the cooperative investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Forest Hill, Fort Worth and Kennedale Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wolfe.

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