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PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT
NEWS RELEASE
Date: May 15, 2007
Incident: Tampering with a Government Document
Offense Date: January 10, 2007
Incident Number: 2007-0867
Early in January 2007, Pasadena Police received a complaint that an unidentified individual had fraudulently used
the victim's identification to obtain a cash loan from HSBC Bank in New Jersey through Jackson-Hewitt tax
service at 3819 Shaver, Pasadena. The case was assigned to the Financial Crimes - Identity Theft Unit for
investigation. Close in time to the initial report, four (4) additional cases arose in Pasadena in which similar claims
were made and all five (5) involved “stolen identity” used in applying for separate pre-file tax return loans at
Jackson-Hewitt in Pasadena. Two (2) additional cases were discovered to have occurred at the Sharpstown Mall
office of Jackson-Hewitt as well. One of those cases involved the same victim as in one of the Pasadena cases.
The common element among all the victims was their having sought and received previous tax services rendered
by Jackson-Hewitt outlets.
As an aspect of the investigation, detectives obtained and executed a search warrant at the residence of both
defendants, located at 19930 Black Pearl Court in Harris County, where the pair was arrested May 10th. The search
resulted in the recovery of numerous tax records, Texas drivers’ licenses and social security cards in the names of
various individuals, and a lamination machine. Several computers seized at this location were found to contain
large amounts of information associated with the fraudulent production and use of false identification. In addition,
detectives seized check stock paper, and printed checks displaying the names of actual and potential victims.
Also seized in connection with the investigation were items purported to have been obtained with illegal proceeds
of the scheme: 5 motor vehicles, 1 portable B-B-Q pit on a trailer, 2 mini racing motorcycles, 3 computers, 2 large
screen video monitors, and numerous jewelry items. Also seized were over $16,000.00 in cash, 11 I-Power
Master Cards, and FEMA documentation indicating that the defendants had made monetary claims as hurricane
evacuees from the Beaumont area.
The charges against each defendant are directly associated with false identification presented in December 2006 to
private authorities at the Jackson-Hewitt District Office in Seabrook and the submission, by each defendant, of a
Dept. of Homeland Security application for tax service employment, form I-9. Multiple incidents of the fraudulent
activity of the defendants alleged, is suspected to have occurred over a period of approximately two years and the
massive scheme remains under investigation by detectives. Despite there being only one charge filed against each
defendant at this point, the remaining cases are intended to be incorporated into the prosecution of the case filed, as
evidence of an on-going criminal episode, a factor in the high bond set by the court.
Defendants: 1) Jennifer Baines Johnson B/F 2-22-67
2) Tarsha Nicole Jones
B/F 4-26-77
Address: 19930 Black Pearl Court, Harris County
Address: Same
Charge: Tampering with a Government Document (1-count each) Court: 176th District
Bond: $400,000 each
Vance Mitchell,
Public Information Officer
Captain Bud Corbett:
Status: In-custody
Office:
Cell:
Dispatch:
Office:
713-475-7806
281-850-0850
713-477-1221
281-998-3175