Lower Bail Denied to Accused Identity Thief

By TIFFANY THOMAS

A request by the defense to decrease a $150,000 bail for a former Hart and Hale soup restaurant employee accused of stealing customer’s credit and debit card information was denied by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Tuesday.

Iesha Jackson of the Bronx who worked as a cashier at the Midtown restaurant was indicted on April 30 along with 10 other employees by the Manhattan DA’s office. Handcuffed, with a vibrant red hair and a vertical tattoo on the right side of her neck, Jackson entered the court room of Judge Renee White to hear the ruling

As the defense and prosecution argued about bail,White called both attorneys to the bench. According to the defense, the family of the accused are unable to amass such a large sum of cash to post bail. But tje request was rejected because of the severity in charges.

Jackson along with the other suspects allegedly used stolen information from customers for thousands of dollars in purchases. The DA charged that the 11 defendants attempted to spend $118,000 and accumulated $90,000 in fraudulent charges skimming over 20 credit and debit cards.

Jackson said that her 39-year-old boyfriend, Gerald Spears of the Bronx gave her the skimming device. Spears was named as the ringleader of the alleged identity theft scam and faced 56 charges.

Prosecutors said that the rings stole personal information from at least 60 victims before the scheme was discovered.