24 Year Sentence For Identity Theft Ringleader

A 30-year-old Florida man will spend the next two decades in custody for his role in a multi-state identity theft scheme that ended up in Wisconsin.

Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Foster sentenced Samuel Jones Thursday to 12 years in prison and 12 years of extended supervision on four felony counts of misappropriation of ID. The sentence was the maximum Foster could hand out in the case, which she said was needed to protect the community.

However, given Jones’ extensive criminal record that has kept him in prison nine out of the past 17 years, Foster said she wasn’t hopeful he would become rehabilitated by going back into prison, saying his last stint appears to have only taught him better ways to perpetuate fraud.

“I don’t know what you’ll learn from this go around except how to be a better criminal,” Foster said.

Jones was one of several Florida residents who traveled to Wisconsin and other Midwest states where they would break into cars and steal ID and other bank information from victims. Some of the schemers were then “mules” who went to area banks posing as the victims in order to obtain money from bank accounts.

Prosecutor Michele Hulgaard portrayed Jones as the ringleader of the group, saying he dictated who they would steal from and where they would stay. She said Jones would stay on the phone with the mules the entire time they were in the banks getting money so he could make sure they weren’t stealing from him.

The ring came to a halt when one of the members, Elizabeth Sturm, 22, of Florida, was caught after she went to an Elm Grove bank in July and tried to withdraw money from a Green Bay woman's stolen bank card and drivers license. Bank workers called police and Sturm was arrested after a high speed chase through the village. Sturm is currently being held in Milwaukee County Jail and is scheduled to be sentenced May 10.

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Hulgaard said Jones and the others targeted Wisconsin because they thought it would be easier to perpetuate the crime because there are “smaller” banks here.

All the victims were “stalked” by Jones, she said, and victims were stolen from in places they felt they were safe. Charges are pending against Jones in other Wisconsin counties and more are expected to be issued soon.

“This was an extremely premeditated string of crimes,” Hulgaard said.

Hulgaard also lambasted Jones for never having a “tax paying” job in his life and spending most of his adult life in prison, but still siring children with many different women. During the sentencing she kept a picture of Jones with his custom Mercedes SUV equipped with $10,000 rims, showing he somehow had an income, which must have come from crime.

Jones has maintained he ran a car detailing business named “Sho Nuff,” but Hulgaard said there is no evidence of this business ever existing.

Jones spoke briefly during the sentencing, only saying he felt remorseful for the crime, but also didn’t like that people would “say things about me that really don’t know me.”

Family members and friends wrote letters to the court attesting to Jones’ character, including a letter from a Boys and Girls Club in Florida where Jones allegedly mentored kids. Hulgaard said she questioned if Jones had only used the organization to groom at-risk youth and Foster said she was also very concerned about the question.

“I’m appalled. Absolutely utterly appalled to get that kind of character letter,” Foster said.

Four victims spoke in court about the impact the crimes have had on them and how it has affected their lives since they were victimized, saying it cost them dearly financially and psychologically.

“I didn’t deserve this,” victim Laura Knowles said. “I didn’t do anything to him to deserve this.”