Charlotte woman sentenced for identity theft and bank fraud scheme involving 26 victims
US. NIGEL AND SYDNEY ARE UP NEXT. WYFF NEWS FOUR AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. HEAT ADVISORIES IN PLACE NOT ONLY ON TUESDAY BUT ALSO ON WEDNESDAY. WE’LL TELL YOU HOW HOT IT WILL GET COMING UP. EXTREME TEMPERATURES GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOUR DAY TO DAY. I’M CAITLIN ASHBAUGH WITH HOW YOU CAN AVOID A HEALTH HAZARD IN THE HEAT. BREAKING NEWS IRAN LAUNCHING RETALIATORY STRIKES ON U.S. FORCES AS TENSIONS GROW FOLLOWING AN ATTACK ON SEVERAL IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES. BUT NOT ONLY SHOOTING, BUT SHOOTING. COWARDLY. ONE DEAD, NINE OTHERS INJURED. WHEN A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION TURNED INTO CHAOS. ONE OF THE PEOPLE ARRESTED IN BOND COURT THIS AFTERNOON. BUT OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT IS AT SIX IS THAT EXTREME HEAT ACROSS THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. TODAY IS A LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR IMPACT DAY DUE TO THOSE TEMPERATURES. LET’S TAKE A LIVE LOOK NOW FROM GREENVILLE TO ANDERSON. IT JUST LOOKS HOT. NOT EVEN ANY FOLKS ON THE LAKE TODAY. TONIGHT WE HAVE LIVE TEAM COVERAGE WITH HOW YOU CAN STAY SAFE AS IMPACT DAYS CONTINUE THIS WEEK. BUT FIRST, WE DO WANT TO BEGIN WITH OUR FORECAST. BRADFORD AMBROS IN FOR CHRIS TONIGHT IN BRADFORD. HOW LONG IS THIS HEAT GOING TO STICK AROUND. WELL SYDNEY AND NIGEL AT LEAST THE COUPLE OF DAYS HERE. LIKELY THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURES TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THAT’S WHY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS GONE AHEAD AND ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY STARTING NOON TOMORROW UNTIL 8:00. AND THEY’LL DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN AS WE HEAD INTO THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY. AND FORTUNATELY, WE’LL START TO SEE SOME RELIEF WORK BACK INTO THE PICTURE BY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. CURRENT AIR TEMPERATURES NOW 93 CURRENTLY IN GREENVILLE, 93 IN ANDERSON. IT’S 95 UP IN SPARTANBURG. WE’VE GOT SOME RAIN COOLED AIR INTO WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, INTO THE UPPER 70S. WE’VE GOT 88 CURRENTLY IN ASHEVILLE. YOU FACTOR IN THE HUMIDITY. IT STILL FEELS LIKE IT’S 97 IN GREENVILLE, 97 IN SPARTANBURG. FEELS LIKE IT’S 100 DOWN IN LAURENS, 98 IN GREENWOOD FEELS LIKE IT’S 91. AND ASHEVILLE OVERALL. WE’RE SEEING A GOOD DEAL OF SUNSHINE OUT THERE AS WE WORK INTO THE EVENING HOURS. ONCE AGAIN, WITH THOSE TEMPERATURES INTO THE 80S AND 90S, WITH THAT HEAT AND HUMIDITY. LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR TRACKING SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS AND RUMBLES OF THUNDER ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. BUT OVERALL, THAT RAIN CHANCE VERY MINIMAL THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. SO IN THE 90S, NOW THROUGH THE 80S, EVENTUALLY INTO THE MID 70S ACROSS THE UPSTATE EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. AND FOR YOU FOLKS INTO THE MOUNTAINS FROM THE 80S THROUGH THE 70S AND EVENTUALLY MID TO UPPER 60S, EARLY TOMORROW MORNING, TOMORROW WILL BE THE HOTTEST DAY. BUT WE ARE TRACKING SOME HIGHER STORM CHANCES ON THE WAY. FOR WEDNESDAY, WE’LL SHOW YOU WHICH HOMETOWNS WILL HAVE THE GREATEST CHANCE HERE. COMING UP IN JUST A FEW. BRADFORD. THANK YOU. RIGHT NOW, ESCAPING THAT SUMMER HEAT FEELS LIKE A CHALLENGE. BUT UPSTATE MEDICAL OFFICIALS SAY YOU SHOULD BE EVEN MORE WORRIED ABOUT HEAT ILLNESSES. THEY SAY THE SEARING TEMPERATURES CAN TURN YOUR EVERYDAY TASKS INTO A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. OUR CAITLIN ASHBAUGH JOINS US LIVE NOW FROM UNITY PARK WITH HOW YOU CAN BEAT THE HEAT. CAITLIN. HEY, SYDNEY. NIGEL. THEY SAY THAT ESSENTIALLY THIS IS THE TIME WHEN YOU NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF WHAT’S GOING ON. THAT COULD BE KEY IN AVOIDING THOSE HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES AND INJURIES. THEY SAY IT COULD START AS SIMPLE AS AVOIDING PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT THAT MIGHT BE TOO HOT TO THE TOUCH. MAYBE IT’S FINDING A BREAK IN THE SHADE, OR SIMPLY STAYING OUT OF THE HEAT ALTOGETHER DURING THOSE PEAK HOURS EARLIER TODAY, AND EVEN RIGHT NOW, WE TRACK TEMPERATURES IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS FOR UNITY PARK HERE. I MEAN, IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE’VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY, REACHING AS UP TO 120, BUT RIGHT NOW YOU CAN SEE IT’S HITTING JUST UNDER ABOUT 100 DEGREES. NOW WE CAN SAY THAT IN UPSTATE. DOCTOR TOLD US THAT THE THIS IS WHEN THOSE HEAT INJURIES TEND TO START COMING IN. THEY START TO TAKE A TOLL THERE. AND FOR THOSE ADULTS WHO ARE CHECKING OFF THOSE TO DO LIST, AND FOR THOSE KIDS WHO ARE SPENDING THEIR SUMMERS OUTDOORS, THIS COULD BE A RISK TO THEM. CHILDREN, THEY’RE OFTEN MORE PRONE TO OVERHEATING THAN ADULTS, AND THEIR SYMPTOMS CAN BE HARDER TO TRACE. OFFICIALS SAY THAT YOU SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR SEIZURE LIKE ACTIVITY DROPS IN ENERGY FOR A KID. EXCUSE ME, WHO’S ACTING OUT OF THEIR NORM? EVEN IF THEY’RE OUT IN THE SHADE PLAYING OR SWIMMING IN A COOL POOL. THE VERY OLD PEOPLE AND THE VERY YOUNG TEND TO BE THE MOST AFFECTED BY THIS, RIGHT? SO OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE TO BE THE MOST MINDFUL OR, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO TAKE EXTREME PRECAUTIONS. DOCTORS TELL US THAT YOU SHOULD STAY OUT OF THE HEAT IF YOU CAN, DURING THOSE PEAK HOURS, AND SAVE THOSE CHECKLIST FOR THE EARLY MORNING OR EVEN THE EARLY EVENING IF YOU OR THE LATER EVENING. EXCUSE ME IF YOU CAN. THEY ALSO SAY IF YOU DO HAVE TO HEAD OUT TO WEAR LOOSE, LIGHT CLOTHING, MAKE SURE YOU STAY HYDRATED AND YOU CAN EVEN AVOID THOSE FOODS AND DRINKS THAT HAVE SUGAR, SPICE OR GREASE TO HELP YOU COOL DOWN. REPORTING IN GREENVILLE CAITLIN ASHBAUGH, WYFF NEWS FOUR. MEANWHILE, ELECTRIC COMPANIES IN THE UPSTATE ARE URGING PEOPLE TO REDUCE ENERGY USE DURING THIS HOT WEATHER. DUKE ENERGY SAYS PEAK DEMAND IS USUALLY 3 TO 8 IN THE EVENING. TO HELP PROTECT THE GRID AND REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF POWER OUTAGES, YOU CAN POSTPONE LAUNDRY UNTIL LATER IN THE EVENING OR EARLY IN THE MORNING. ALSO, AVOID PROLONGED USE OF YOUR OVEN AND OTHER APPLIANCES. BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC IS ALSO REMINDING CUSTOMERS TO CONSERVE NON-ESSENTIAL ENERGY USAGE. FOR THE LATEST ON THE FORECAST AS WE CONTINUE THIS HEAT WAVE, YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN TO WYFF4.COM AND THE WYFF4.COM MOBILE APP. WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT. IRAN LAUNCHED A MISSILE ATTACK ON A U.S. MILITARY BASE IN QATAR, AND WE ARE TOLD QATAR SUCCESSFULLY INTERCEPTED THE BALLISTIC MISSILES. IT COMES AFTER THE U.S. LAUNCHED SEVERAL STRIKES ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR SITES. RASHAD WILLIAMS JOINS US NOW WITH MORE RASHAD. WELL, IT HAS BEEN A BUSY FEW DAYS, BUT THIS AFTERNOON, WITNESSES IN THE QATAR REGION REPORTED SEEING MISSILES ALL ACROSS THE SKY. IRAN ANNOUNCED ON STATE TELEVISION THAT IT ATTACKED AMERICAN FORCES STATIONED AT AN AIR BASE. THE ATTACK CAME SHORTLY AFTER QATAR CLOSED ITS AIRSPACE AS A PRECAUTION AMID THREATS FROM IRAN. ON SATURDAY, THE U.S. DROPPED MASSIVE, QUOTE, BUNKER BUSTING BOMBS ON UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR TARGETS, MARKING THE FIRST U.S. DIRECT MILITARY ATTACK ON IRAN. WE SPOKE WITH SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM THIS MORNING, AND HE SAYS WAR IS NOT THE GOAL FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. PRESIDENT TRUMP DOES NOT WANT TO GET INTO WAR UNLESS HE HAS TO USE THE MILITARY TO DEFEND OUR NATION. AND WHEN HE HAS TO, HE WILL. PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS NO AMERICANS WERE HURT AND HARDLY ANY DAMAGE WAS DONE. BUT COMING UP AT 630, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH TOM LLAMAS WILL HAVE MUCH MORE ON THE GROWING TENSIONS OUT IN THE MIDDLE EAST. SYDNEY RISHAAD. THANK YOU. RIGHT NOW, A JUDGE HAS JUST DENIED BOND FOR AN 18 YEAR-OLD ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO A DEADLY SHOOTING IN ANDERSON COUNTY. THE SHERIFF SAYS HE’S ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO FIRED INTO A CROWD DURING A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION OVER THE WEEKEND. OUR REY LLERENA WAS IN BOND COURT FOR THAT HEARING. HE JOINS US NOW WITH MORE ON THE VICTIMS AND THE SUSPECT’S FAMILY WERE BOTH IN THE ROOM. THEY WERE NIGEL, AND AT ONE POINT, THE VICTIM’S FAMILY HAD TO BE ESCORTED OUT OF THE ROOM WHERE THAT HEARING WAS BEING HELD BECAUSE THEY WERE SO DISTRAUGHT AND CRYING AFTER LOSING THEIR LOVED ONE. OVER THE WEEKEND, THE SUSPECT’S FAMILY, MEANWHILE, DID NOT MAKE A STATEMENT DURING THE HEARING. 18 YEAR-OLD RAQUEL DAMON HOLLINS HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER AND POSSESSION OF A WEAPON. HOLLINS INITIALLY TOLD THE JUDGE HE WANTED TO MAKE A STATEMENT, BUT ONCE HE HEARD THE VICTIM’S FAMILY CRYING, HE DECIDED AGAINST IT. ANDERSON COUNTY SHERIFF CHAD MCBRIDE IDENTIFIED THE WOMAN WHO DIED AS 35 YEAR OLD LA’PORSHA COBB, WHO IS A MOTHER OF THREE. MCBRIDE ALSO SAYS COBB WAS AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER. TWO OPPOSING SIDES, I GUESS, CAME TOGETHER. AND, YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THEY START PULLING OUT GUNS AND THEY START SHOOTING AT EACH OTHER AS THEY’RE RUNNING FROM EACH OTHER, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IT’S AGAIN, I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT CONCEPT OF WHY YOU WOULD DO THAT TO ME. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING? I’VE GONE OVER IN ALL DEPUTIES SAY NINE PEOPLE WERE INJURED IN THE GUNFIRE AND THREE OF THE VICTIMS REMAIN IN THE HOSPITAL. MCBRIDE SAYS HE EXPECTS MORE ARRESTS TO COME IN THE FUTURE. A JUDGE TOLD HOLLINS THAT HIS PRELIMINARY HEARING IS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 28TH AT THE ANDERSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE. DEPUTIES ALSO SAY THAT ANYBODY WITH ANY MORE INFORMATION CAN CONTACT CRIME STOPPERS FOR NOW. REPORTING LIVE IN ANDERSON COUNTY, REY LLERENA. WYFF NEWS FOUR. RAY, THANK YOU. TONIGHT IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY, WE ARE LEARNING NEW DETAILS ABOUT A SHOOTING THAT LEFT A FAMILY OF THREE DEAD. IT HAPPENED BACK IN MARCH ON MARYLAND. PERRY LANE OFF REEDVILLE ROAD IN GREER. WE’RE TOLD DEPUTIES WENT INTO THE HOME AND FOUND 54 YEAR OLD RICHARD SUMMERILL, 45 YEAR LINUS MERRILL AND NINE YEAR OLD SAMANTHA SUMMERILL ALL DEAD. TODAY, THE CORONER RELEASED THEIR CAUSE AND MANNER OF DEATH. BOTH LINA AND SAMANTHA WERE SHOT AND THEIR DEATHS WERE RULED A HOMICIDE. THE CORONER SAYS RICHARD WAS ALSO SHOT, BUT. BUT HIS DEATH WAS RULED A SUICIDE. ALSO IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY, A DEADLY SHOOTING AT ACADEMY SPORTS AND OUTDOORS IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. OFFICIALS SAY THEY WERE CALLED TO PEACHWOOD CENTER DRIVE YESTERDAY MORNING AFTER RECEIVING A CALL ABOUT SHOTS FIRED THERE. WHEN DEPUTIES ARRIVED, THEY SAY THEY FOUND EVIDENCE OF A SHOOTING. THEY SAY TWO VICTIMS WERE TAKEN TO A HOSPITAL. 17 YEAR OLD COREY FREDERICKS DIED AT THE SCENE. ANOTHER PERSON IS IN THE HOSPITAL. DEPUTIES BELIEVE THERE WAS A LARGE GATHERING OF PEOPLE IN THE PARKING LOT.
Charlotte woman sentenced for identity theft and bank fraud scheme involving 26 victims
Updated: 8:40 PM EDT Jun 23, 2025
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A Charlotte woman is headed to federal prison for identity theft and a fraud scheme involving 26 victims across the nation.According to court documents, from March 2023 to Feb. 2024, Jessica Bailey Sowell of Charlotte, North Carolina, devised and executed an identity theft and bank fraud scheme using stolen personal identifying information (PII) obtained through stolen mail, the internet, and other sources.Officials said Sowell created fraudulent identification documents with the stolen PII, which she used at banks, hotels, and retail stores to obtain money and merchandise, and to rent hotel rooms and cars. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement found letters, bank cards, and checks in Sowell’s possession that belonged to at least 26 victims of identity theft.According to court records, a federal search warrant was executed at a hotel room where Sowell was staying, where investigators seized one suitcase containing hundreds of pieces of mail with various names and addresses; a second suitcase packed with store tagged merchandise; two handwritten journals with the names and credit information of multiple persons; and 23 driver’s licenses from different states with Sowell’s photograph and the PII of identity theft victims.Investigators also searched a rental vehicle Sowell was using and seized a credit card in the name of an ID theft victim, receipts for merchandise purchased with the victim’s credit card, an identity card printer, multiple blank identity cards, and holographic stickers, among other items. During the search of Sowell’s hotel room, investigators also found a Taurus G3 9mm handgun, bedazzled with sequins on the barrel.Sowell has 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, which prohibits her from possessing firearms. On Aug. 5, 2024, Sowell pleaded guilty to the following:Bank fraud and aiding and abettingAggravated identity theft and aiding and abettingPossession of a firearm by a convicted felonOn June 23, 2025, the 32-year-old was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.The U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina said Sowell is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Officials said Sowell was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $47,190.25.The Secret Service and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigated the case, with the assistance of 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.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte woman is headed to federal prison for identity theft and a fraud scheme involving 26 victims across the nation.
According to court documents, from March 2023 to Feb. 2024, Jessica Bailey Sowell of Charlotte, North Carolina, devised and executed an identity theft and bank fraud scheme using stolen personal identifying information (PII) obtained through stolen mail, the internet, and other sources.
Officials said Sowell created fraudulent identification documents with the stolen PII, which she used at banks, hotels, and retail stores to obtain money and merchandise, and to rent hotel rooms and cars.
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement found letters, bank cards, and checks in Sowell’s possession that belonged to at least 26 victims of identity theft.
According to court records, a federal search warrant was executed at a hotel room where Sowell was staying, where investigators seized one suitcase containing hundreds of pieces of mail with various names and addresses; a second suitcase packed with store tagged merchandise; two handwritten journals with the names and credit information of multiple persons; and 23 driver’s licenses from different states with Sowell’s photograph and the PII of identity theft victims.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of North Carolina
Investigators also searched a rental vehicle Sowell was using and seized a credit card in the name of an ID theft victim, receipts for merchandise purchased with the victim’s credit card, an identity card printer, multiple blank identity cards, and holographic stickers, among other items.
During the search of Sowell’s hotel room, investigators also found a Taurus G3 9mm handgun, bedazzled with sequins on the barrel.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of North Carolina
Sowell has 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, which prohibits her from possessing firearms.
On Aug. 5, 2024, Sowell pleaded guilty to the following:
- Bank fraud and aiding and abetting
- Aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
On June 23, 2025, the 32-year-old was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
The U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina said Sowell is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
Officials said Sowell was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $47,190.25.
The Secret Service and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigated the case, with the assistance of 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.