Last Friday, three Mississippi women faced a judge on charges of wire fraud and aggravated theft of identity. On September 8, a federal grand jury in Jackson indicted Crystal Holliday, 33, Annie J. Blalock 62 and Ashton Crouthers, 33, all of Union, MS, with a scheme to use wire fraud and identity theft in order to gain bank accounts for several guests of the Pearl River Resort in Choctaw.
Mississippi’s Trio of Swindlers
The Mississippi trio faces a nine-count indictment for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated theft. The defendants appeared in court Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball.
The case will be tried in U.S. District Court in Jackson on January 24, 2022. Each defendant could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years imprisonment on Counts 1-5 and a possible mandatory minimum of two years on Counts 6-9.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Choctaw Police Department. The arrests were made by the Union Police Department and the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Department.
An indictment is not a charge. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in court.
Wisconsin Caretaker Takes Care of Herself
A Wisconsin woman has been sentenced to prison for stealing more than $400,000 from an elderly person she cared for in-home. She spent almost half the money at casinos.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Kassie Wujkowski, 29, will be in initial confinement for 18 months. After pleading guilty, she will then spend 18 and a quarter years under extended supervision. In restitution for stealing more than $400,000 from a 70-year-old, she was ordered to pay $302,960.54.
Wujkowski reportedly made 1,324 transactions totaling $313,774 between October 2017 and October 2019. Nearly $140,000 was spent on casinos.
Investigators also found that Wujkowski, despite having a salary of $1,250 per month, spent more than $20,000 on her credit cards and paid her family more than $80,000.
Attorney General Josh Kaul, asserted, “Elder fraud and exploitation is a growing problem, with an estimated $77.8 million lost annually in Wisconsin. It is also a vastly underreported crime.”
The Department of Justice of Criminal Investigations investigated the case and the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted it.