Charlotte Woman Sentenced 57 Months for Bank Fraud, Identity Theft, Firearm Possession

Jessica Bailey Sowell, a 32-year-old woman from Charlotte, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for orchestrating a sophisticated identity theft and bank fraud scheme from March 2023 to February 2024, involving at least 26 victims. She used stolen personal identifying information obtained through stolen mail and the internet to create fraudulent IDs, which she employed to defraud banks, hotels, and retail stores, acquiring money and merchandise. Law enforcement found extensive evidence during a federal search of her hotel room and rental vehicle, including hundreds of pieces of stolen mail, store-tagged merchandise, multiple forged driver's licenses bearing her photo with victims' information, an identity card printer, and a Taurus G3 9mm handgun, which she was prohibited from possessing due to prior convictions. Sowell pleaded guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unlawful firearm possession and was ordered to pay restitution of over $47,000, followed by five years of supervised release. The investigation and sentencing were announced by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson, with support from the U.S. Secret Service and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials. Sowell's criminal history includes a 2021 federal aggravated identity theft conviction and a 2015 state felony drug conviction.