Guyanese woman faces sentencing in US over fraud, identity theft

A Guyanese woman is expected to be jailed and later deported after she pleaded guilty in a US court last Friday to being involved in a scam that targeted Price Chopper supermarkets in the United States.

According to the Saratogian newspaper, Georgette Jackman, 37, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and trafficking in counterfeit access devices.

The report said Jackman admitted that from February, 2012 through January, 2013, she and co-conspirators Jamese Williams and Terry Nicholas travelled together by car on a regular basis to stores throughout New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut, including approximately 47 Price Chopper grocery stores. Some of those stores were in Albany, Saratoga and Fulton counties.

During these trips, Jackman provided Williams and Nicholas with hundreds of counterfeit credit cards bearing stolen account numbers and embossed names that did not correspond to the actual account holders. Williams and Nicholas used these cards to purchase US$435,465 worth of gift cards, which they gave to Jackman.

Williams and Nicholas have already pleaded guilty to their roles in the scam and are awaiting sentencing. Jackman was detained pending sentencing, which is scheduled for February 18, 2016 in Albany before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.

She faces up to 15 years in jail on the conspiracy and trafficking charges, and a mandatory two years of imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft charge, which must be served consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.