Allegedly stole identity of 70-year-old widow, spent money in the old lady's name
The youngest daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X was being held without bail in North Carolina pending extradition to New York on charges she stole $55,000 and the identity of the widow of her father's friend and bodyguard.
Malikah Shabazz, 44, is accused of defrauding Khaula Bakr of New York City, widow of a bodyguard who was with Malcolm X when he was assassinated in Harlem on February 21, 1965.
Shabazz allegedly stole the personal identification information of the 70-year-old widow and used it to steal more than $55,000 between August 2006 and November 2007, according to Queens County, N.Y., District Attorney Richard Brown.
"She vehemently denies taking any money, or anything of value that belonged to Ms. Bakr," said Shabazz' attorney Sean Devereux after the hearing in Marshall, N.C.
Shabazz was ordered held without bond, and New York officials were expected in North Carolina on Monday to transfer her to New York.
The attorney said the judge had given authorities a maximum of two weeks from Shabazz' arrest to collect her. "Otherwise we'll be back in court again," he said.
Shabazz was arrested in Mars Hills, North Carolina, on Friday and charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, forgery, identity theft, fraud, falsifying business records and other charges.
If convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.
- According to the criminal charges, the case came to light when Bakr received a letter from Wells Fargo Bank telling her she had a credit account with an overdue amount of $28,000.
Bakr, who had never opened such an account, ran credit reports on herself and found they listed her address in Columbia, South Carolina, at an address allegedly belonging to Shabazz, Brown said in a statement.
Two other credit card accounts were discovered allegedly in Bakr's name with Shabazz's address, Brown said, with more than $27,000 owed. Another account included a letter allegedly from both Bakr and Shabazz requesting a reissue of credit cards and checks with a new account and personal identification numbers, he said.
"The defendant is accused of stealing not only a substantial amount of money from a once close family friend but her personal identity, as well," Brown said.
Shabazz allegedly obtained Bakr's personal information under the pretext of needing it for paperwork regarding a child care power of attorney, Brown said.
Bakr provided her information but never received any child care documents from Shabazz, he said.
- Shabazz also is wrangling with her sisters over the estate of their mother, Betty Shabazz, who died in 1997 in a fire set by one of her grandsons.
Shabazz, one of six daughters of Malcolm X, was born months after his 1965 death.
Malcolm X daughter accused of fraud, identity theft
Allegedly stole identity of 70-year-old widow, spent money in the old lady's name
The youngest daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X was being held without bail in North Carolina pending extradition to New York on charges she stole $55,000 and the identity of the widow of her father's friend and bodyguard.
Malikah Shabazz, 44, is accused of defrauding Khaula Bakr of New York City, widow of a bodyguard who was with Malcolm X when he was assassinated in Harlem on February 21, 1965.
Shabazz allegedly stole the personal identification information of the 70-year-old widow and used it to steal more than $55,000 between August 2006 and November 2007, according to Queens County, N.Y., District Attorney Richard Brown.
"She vehemently denies taking any money, or anything of value that belonged to Ms. Bakr," said Shabazz' attorney Sean Devereux after the hearing in Marshall, N.C.
Shabazz was ordered held without bond, and New York officials were expected in North Carolina on Monday to transfer her to New York.
The attorney said the judge had given authorities a maximum of two weeks from Shabazz' arrest to collect her. "Otherwise we'll be back in court again," he said.
Shabazz was arrested in Mars Hills, North Carolina, on Friday and charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, forgery, identity theft, fraud, falsifying business records and other charges.
If convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.
Bakr, who had never opened such an account, ran credit reports on herself and found they listed her address in Columbia, South Carolina, at an address allegedly belonging to Shabazz, Brown said in a statement.
Two other credit card accounts were discovered allegedly in Bakr's name with Shabazz's address, Brown said, with more than $27,000 owed. Another account included a letter allegedly from both Bakr and Shabazz requesting a reissue of credit cards and checks with a new account and personal identification numbers, he said.
"The defendant is accused of stealing not only a substantial amount of money from a once close family friend but her personal identity, as well," Brown said.
Shabazz allegedly obtained Bakr's personal information under the pretext of needing it for paperwork regarding a child care power of attorney, Brown said.
Bakr provided her information but never received any child care documents from Shabazz, he said.
Shabazz, one of six daughters of Malcolm X, was born months after his 1965 death.
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