Malcolm X's youngest daughter, M.S., has pleaded guilty to defrauding the elderly widow of one of her father's former bodyguards in a credit card scheme, as reported by CNN in New York.
Prosecutors said that M.S. took advantage of the 70 year-old woman by using the woman's name, K.B., and defrauding nearly $56,000 from credit card companies.
M.S. had been ordered to repay the debt, stolen between August of 2006 and November of 2007, within a five-year probation. If she fails to do so she will be facing up to seven years in jail.
M.S. currently has avoided jail time.
M.S. pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court on June 9. Her sentencing is due next month.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said, "The defendant, who preyed upon the trusting nature of a once close family friend, has admitted her guilt in committing a serious felony offense and will be ordered to make her victims financially whole."
Defense attorney Russell Rothberg said, "We were happy that she got her freedom and that she's going to reunite herself with her daughter."
M.S. was arresting in Mars Hills, North Carolina this past February. She had been wanted since 2009 in New York.
K.B.'s husband was one of Malcolm X's bodyguards in 1965 - and present on the day the African-American activist was assassinated.
Malcolm X had six daughters in all.
K.B. learned of the fraud via a letter sent by her bank, Wells Fargo, telling her that her credit account was past due.
The amount owing, in an account K.B. never opened or authorized anyone else to, was $28,789.38.
K.B. ran a series of credit card reports and found that M.S. had opened the account. It proved just to be the first discovery.
There were three more credit card accounts found in K.B.'s name that M.S. had created and all showed an address in South Carolina - that was M.S.'s. Prosecutors allege that the accounts contained a letter, allegedly from K.B., that included her signature with M.S. listed as a co-signer.
Each letter requested new credit cards and checks be issued, under a new account and pin number.
Prosecutors contended that M.S. was able to gain K.B.'s personal identification information because she told the older woman that it was needed for some type of child-care paperwork to allow power of attorney.
K.B. said she never received any child-care documents from M.S. after providing her with the information the young woman wanted.
Rothberg said that M.S. pleaded guilty to several charges including one count of identity theft, as well as third-degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree forgery, first-degree
identity theft and first-degree falsifying business records.
The repayment of the nearly $60,000 was a "fair and reasonable resolution to the case" per Brown.
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