Charlotte Woman Sentenced for Identity Theft and Bank Fraud Scheme
A Charlotte woman, Jessica Bailey Sowell, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison for devising and executing an identity theft and bank fraud scheme that victimized 26 individuals across the United States. The sentencing took place on June 23, 2025.
According to court documents, Sowell’s scheme ran from March 2023 to February 2024. She obtained stolen personal identifying information (PII) through various means, including stolen mail and the internet. Sowell then created fraudulent identification documents using this stolen information, which she used to obtain money, merchandise, and services from banks, hotels, and retail stores.
During the investigation, law enforcement officials discovered extensive evidence of Sowell’s crimes. A search of her hotel room revealed hundreds of pieces of mail with various names and addresses, store-tagged merchandise, handwritten journals containing names and credit information of multiple individuals, and 23 driver’s licenses from different states with Sowell’s photograph and the PII of identity theft victims. A search of a rental vehicle she was using uncovered additional evidence, including a credit card in the name of an identity theft victim, receipts for merchandise purchased with the victim’s credit card, an identity card printer, and holographic stickers.
Sowell was found to be in possession of a Taurus G3 9mm handgun during the search of her hotel room. This discovery added to her legal troubles, as she had previous convictions that prohibited her from possessing firearms, including a federal aggravated identity theft conviction from 2021 and a state felony conviction for possession with intent to distribute MDA/MDMA and death by vehicle from 2015.
On August 5, 2024, Sowell pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aiding and abetting, aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In addition to her prison sentence, she was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $47,190.25.
The case was investigated by the Secret Service and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
