'Father of ID theft' turns over a new leaf
Posted: Friday, December 7 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
James Jackson, with wife Sharon and daughter Taylor.
Five years ago, James Jackson stood before a federal judge and confessed to some of the most audacious crimes of identity theft ever committed. He stole nearly $1 million in diamonds and Rolex watches by pretending to be recently deceased corporate executives.
It was just the latest in a long string of identity crimes dating back 25 years, long before the term “identity theft” had even been invented. By then, Jackson was already an ID thief to the stars, having impersonated a long list of corporate executives and Hollywood personalities. He eventually was given the nickname “father of identity theft” by some media outlets.
Back in 2002, Jackson had been in and out of jail for 15 years, managing to get by with relatively short stints each time. But this time, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts had little patience with Jackson's explanations. In the courtroom was a diagram of the complex schemes he had operated and the 29 felonies to which he was about to plead guilty. "The defendant's crimes are everyone's worst nightmare," Batts wrote at the time. Urged by the U.S. attorney’s office to give Jackson the maximum penalty, Batts sentenced him to eight years in prison – setting the beginning of the term in 2000, when he was first arrested.
This month, Jackson was released to a halfway house, his sentence reduced by a few months for good behavior. He's now an employee of First Choice Staffing Services in Memphis, Tenn. In March, he will be a free man.
"It's going to be different this time, I won't go back," Jackson said during a telephone interview from his new office.
A low-paying desk job is certainly a new life for Jackson, who spent the better part of two decades quite literally living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. He owned fleets of sports cars, bought his wife mink coats, and had homes in several states. He funded the extravagance by pretending to be CBS' Larry Tisch, or General Motors CEO Robert Stemple, or Edward Brennan, CEO of Sears, or some other well-heeled executive. He even impersonated women.
In about 150 letters sent to me from a federal corrections facility in Forrest City, Ark., during the past three years, Jackson offered intimate details of his decades-long march through the identities of rich and famous Americans. He decided to share his exploits, he said, in order to help draw attention to the problem of identity theft, and to help companies learn how to prevent the crime. The letters are the basis of “Your Evil Twin: Behind the Identity Theft Epidemic,” published in 2005. The first chapter of the book is available free on MSNBC.com.
In his letters, Jackson said he managed to fly around the country at little cost, using a technique not unlike that of famed imposter Frank Abagnale, subject of the movie "Catch Me if You Can." Jackson adopted the identity of a Federal Express employee and took advantage of deeply discounted plane tickets for cheap travel. He also says he monitored the purchases of luminaries like Stephen Spielberg by checking their credit card statements on a regular basis.
More fraud from the inside
Jackson even continued his identity crimes from behind bars. Jackson smuggled a cell phone into prison and used it to commit credit card fraud while working landscaping detail. He charged the phone while sitting in the prison's landscaping truck. He hid it in the truck's air vents when he wasn’t using it.
Now, Jackson is making cold calls, trying to convince local businesses to hire temp workers from First Choice. And, he says, he loves it.
"It feels great. It feels refreshing to be able to get a little fresh air," Jackson said. Last weekend, he was granted his first pass, so he could spend 12 hours with his wife -- the first time they’d been truly alone in years. "To be able to do something as simple as go to McDonald's and sip on a shake, it feels super."
Jackson's first frauds date back to the 1980s, when he began staging fake car accidents and collecting insurance payouts. But he quickly graduated to credit card fraud. An early stint in prison helped.
"I had a Nigerian professor," he says, "who taught me everything."
By all accounts, Jackson is a master manipulator. Before his last sentencing, Jackson’s defense attorney Robert Dunn decided he might have luck getting leniency by convincing a judge that Jackson had a mental problem. So Dunn sent Jackson to see one of New York City’s best psychologists for a defense-friendly diagnosis. Jackson fooled the counselor, who diagnosed him with a gambling problem. Batts, who was privy to the long list of prior convictions that showed no evidence of gambling activity, saw right through the diagnosis.
“James outconned his Goddamn self,” Dunn said during a 2005 interview.
A real charmer
Prison did nothing to change Jackson's charming demeanor. His conversation is punctuated with the eager politeness of a southerner; he insists on using proper titles like "Mr." and "Mrs." long after it seems necessary. He laughs loudly and easily, and says he wants to devote the rest of his life's work to warning people about the dangers of identity crimes and what he calls "fundamental flaws in the system." He plans to turn his gift of gab into a productive career in public relations –- or like Abagnale -– as a consultant and guest speaker on identity theft issues.
When not waxing about identity theft, he talks of caring for wife, Sharon, and 7-year-old daughter Taylor.
“My daughter is on the honor roll,” he said.
Genteel hasn't always been Jackson's style. Ten years ago, while awaiting trial in Arkansas on another crime, he sent a box of spiders to federal Judge Julia Smith Gibbons' home to demonstrate that conditions in the jail were sub-par. He'd collected the critters in his cramped jail quarters. Her home address, of course, was supposed to be a secret. So was the home of the FBI agent who helped arrest him. But, while in jail, Jackson hunted his home address down and called in a fake domestic disturbance as a prank, according to court documents.
Jackson is probably the first high-profile ID thief to be sentenced to serious jail time, and so, he is among the first to be released. There is no data on recidivism among identity thieves, but the temptation to return to the digital-age crime will be enormous. And the last time James got out, within weeks, he was back at it again, calling funeral homes to get Social Security numbers, ordering diamonds with money stolen from a dead man's bank account.
But this time, James said, things are different.
"I am all about helping people now and doing what I can do to forestall this crime," he said.
His boss, Dean Langston, is also optimistic. She’s worked with hundreds of former convicts during the past 25 years in the temporary staffing business. She hand-picks halfway house residents that get to work on her staff, and says, as far as she knows, she's never had one return to a life of crime.
"(Jackson) is a good talker. So I said, 'Let use that talent,’" said Langston, general manager at First Choice. Instead of allowing him to work at outside companies, Jackson is working directly for her, makes sales calls and setting up appointments with prospective new clients. "I want him to stay focused and stay on the right track. I want him to know that there is a legitimate way to make a living." Jackson is not allowed near any personal files at the firm, she said, and his use of technology -- such as cell phones and computers -- is severely limited.
"He sits at a phone and makes calls and talks to people," she said. "He's got a talent for that."
A good use of skills
Telemarketing requires incredible patience, and the ability to endure rejection -- skills every identity thief must also posses. When Jackson impersonated Gordon Teter, the recently deceased CEO of Wendy's, in 2000, he tried to get more than $100,000 wired from Teter’s account at Fifth Third Bank in Ohio to diamond dealer Mondera.com, in order to buy expensive jewelry. At first, the bank operator said no. So Jackson simply hung up, called back and got a new operator. He also lowered the request a few dollars, and added new urgency -- this time, he said it was for a time-sensitive stock purchase. The operator quickly coughed up the funds.
Jackson will need much more patience than that to make it in the real world, says Rob Douglas, an identity theft expert and former defense attorney who has studied recidivism among fraudsters.
"I hope the guy has learned his lesson. He did serve significant time," Douglas, who runs IDAlert.info, said. But other con artists he's worked with rarely stay out of trouble when they are released.
"When it comes to identity theft and (imposters), they seem to have this love of the game. It's a challenge to them,” he said.
It's hard for any former criminal to get a legitimate job, Douglas said, but even harder for con artists. No company wants to trust a former identity thief in an office setting.
"It's difficult for them to get a job that's going to pay what they were able to make committing 'victimless' crimes," he said. "The time could come quickly when James is faced with a choice: Do I continue to try to live an honest life and scrape by or can I beat the system this one last time. More often than not, criminals decide, 'I can get away with it this one last time.' And of course, it's never the last time.'"
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Consumer Man, aka Herb Weisbaum, exposes scams and answers questions
He's still conning people. This time, it's Mr. Sullivan.
Chris, Philly (Sent Dec 7, 2007 8:15:35 AM)
I've been an identity theft victim, and I can't even begin to tell you how lax the laws are in prosecuting these people. I had $4500 taken out of my checking account by someone that wrote a series of checks with my bank routing number and account information and THEIR name on it. Since they didn't spend more than $500 in any one jurisdiction, the police and sheriff's departments all declined to investigate the matter because that is how the law is written. The check forgers know this and continue to get away with it as a result. The bank is investigating (and they returned the cash to my account immediately, thank goodness), but they have only one private investigator on their staff to pursue hundreds of cases like mine. When they do catch the person, it's off to CIVIL court unless they can prove enough instances occurred in any one jurisdiction that criminal charges can be filed.
Jay Keggerlord (Sent Dec 7, 2007 8:42:46 AM)
My identity has been stolen by illegal immigrants. Post this story - illegal is the new legal - only in America.
Chuck Or Smith (Sent Dec 7, 2007 8:50:14 AM)
oh so i.d theft have been around this long then why the focus on nigeria .they were thaught by people like this .point to ponder
kola ojulari,folcroft,pa (Sent Dec 7, 2007 9:23:22 AM)
So, he fooled everyone to think he was reformed.
I'll bet $100 he's not done yet with his life of crime.
Any takers?
Kal, NJ (Sent Dec 7, 2007 9:30:33 AM)
Well, why don't Security Firms employ him? Who better to teach you about ID Theft than a former ID Thief???
I'm not saying, I'm just saying
Logan 5 Scott, Cleveland, Ohio (Sent Dec 7, 2007 9:35:17 AM)
The three credit agencies now offer the ability for anyone to freeze their credit reports and scores so identity thieves cannot open new accounts. Everyone should take advantage of this. All children should have their credit frozen until they need it.
Dave K. Seattle WA (Sent Dec 7, 2007 10:19:02 AM)
ID theft is not a "Victimless" crime. Real people loose real money that they have worked hard for!!!
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 10:28:40 AM)
I thought this article was interesting since this man was in Federal prison in Forest City, AR and is now working in Memphis! I, too,work and live in this area and I'm going to be extra vigilante knowing this guy is out there!
Ann
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 10:38:18 AM)
This man has an exceptional gift. He also has a great need to be challenged and to influence people and events. I hope his current employer can quickly move him onto better things than telemarketing.
MiledAnimal (Sent Dec 7, 2007 12:07:14 PM)
No doubt when the bills comes in and he can't make the payments, he'll go back. It's inevitable.
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 1:29:55 PM)
This guy committed 29 felonies and got out in less than 8 years. That is stiff punishment. I would do 8 years for a million dollars, wouldn't you? Stiff punishment would have been 15 or 20 years. 8 years is no deterrent to these people.
Dee, Sarasota FL (Sent Dec 7, 2007 2:18:23 PM)
So he will be realese in a couple months how about the people that he victimized are they ok with this? The damage is done I dont think the guy deserve a second chance he had more than a second chance.I can guarantee all of you that he will be back on his old ways again....GUARANTEE
Alvin (Sent Dec 7, 2007 2:41:44 PM)
Speaking as a former law enforcement officer and a current internet security professional, I have two points of view.
1. There IS no rehabilitation in correctional institutions. Once things get tough, our friend will remember how easily the money came. They admit in the story that he is a smooth talker. He has them fooled.
2. (The internet Security side with a little common sense thrown in) Spend the $30 and get a shredder. Destroy anything that has your name, address etc. printed on it before it goes in the trash. DON'T think you're accessing a secure website if you are clicking on a link from an email. Phishing is rampant, and the sites are convincing. Any site that IS secure will start with HTTPS:// instead of HTTP://. Be SURE who you are doing business with. Keep your home computers firewalled and update your anti-virus definitions.
It's pretty easy to avoid becoming a target if you are just careful, and use a little common sense.
IPSEC, Everywhere USA (Sent Dec 7, 2007 3:03:40 PM)
Once a thief, always a thief!!!
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 3:13:01 PM)
He was only practicing what the so called "fore" father did in this country: practice fraud and deceit in taking land from the native americans. When will the people in this country realize that this is a confederacy of greedy venture capitalists that use fraudulent tactics and techniques to get what they want at the expense of others - the same way that american, european and asian consumers purchase 51% of the toilet paper made from the eucalyptus tree plantations that have created environmental refugees of the native population of brazil's tropical forests. I am convinced that western capitalism or EMPIRE ECONOMICS (see and read the free book online THE FINAL EMPIRE by WIlliam Koetke from www.rainbowbody.org), an economic system that morphed from mercantilism, is a failed system that comodifies everything - every form of pleasure, every form of pain, every gratifying impulse - and that this paradigm has contributed to the irreversible destruction to the environment. And the fact that I am unemployed and he is employed and will probably get speaking fees for his crimes, is an abomination. However, I am not angry at him, he was only doing what the forefathers have done to unsuspecting victims - he had f*&%$%ed them. i meant failed them.
the christianmonk, NYC (Sent Dec 7, 2007 3:15:48 PM)
Can our judicial system really rehabilitate a psychopath who lies, cheats and steals? Time will tell no doubt. Perhaps he will put his wife and daughter's needs first and keep to the straight and narrow. James, ill-gotten fruit is only temporarily sweet and perhaps you will get help for your addiction. (This is where you are like or were like a gambler.) Best wishes to you and your family.
Jbird, Ft Myers, FL (Sent Dec 7, 2007 3:31:59 PM)
YOU PEOPLE!!! No wonder why our nation is so messed up. The guy sat his time, heck, he even confessed to the crimes he commited, but that doesn't mean he'll go back to being a criminal. It's closed-minded people like most of you who say things like "oh yeah he'll be back at it in no time" or "I guarantee he'll go back to it when he can't make a mortgage payment or rent." Sorry but that isn't right. If someone who has been convicted of a crime, sat their time, and is trying to make a better life for himself LET HIM!!! Let him try to make a better life and support his FAMILY. So some people do some pretty wild crimes but give them the benifit of the doubt?? I think the FBI should definately look into getting him a job tracking down ID thiefs!!! Just because someone did something wrong in their life doens't mean their going to be a bad apple for all of it. I'm sure everyone out there has done something unspeakable at least once(doesn't have to be a crime) and it will be something they regret for the of your life. Get a life and let him go on with his!
beth, wi (Sent Dec 7, 2007 5:08:12 PM)
Is this the same Memphis business that the nurse accused of ID theft worked for? He took a patient's id and bought 2 cars. Being a nurse myself, I can't think of anything lower. His trial is coming up soon-hope he gets more than 8 years!
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 5:08:18 PM)
More B.S. In America.. Land of the B.S. Sorry, America needs to put its foot down big time....
Segarolow Riverside Ca (Sent Dec 7, 2007 5:14:09 PM)
This con-artist got a weak sentence of only 8 yrs but he destroyed peoples' lives. I think scumbags who are convicted of identity theft should be given stronger prison terms. This country is way to lenient on these smart bottom-feeders of society. Yes they are smart but they are bottom-feeding scumbags.
G, LAS VEGAS (Sent Dec 7, 2007 5:19:46 PM)
It's unfortunate to what this has become but if you talk to any type of i.d. theft personale they will tell you it's impossible to keep your info private. I work for a bank and see this stuff on a daily basis with victims. Here's the sad part, ever heard of a "white collard crime" and a "blue collard crime"? Blue collard is this kind of stuff, not murdering, shooting, injuring people but doing high class crimes and the punishment is a slap on the hand (compared to other types of crimes). In the eyes of law enforcement, there time is more consumed with stopping drug trafficking, fighting terrorism, etc. Here's where I post the question: Who do you think is funding all these types of crimes in the first place? Did you know that there was a case that $5 MILLION dollars walked out of the U.S. through a car buying business that sold cars over seas? And guess where that money went to, you guessed it in the hands of terrorism to fund their projects. They received the funds through i.d. theft washed it through the car dealership and then smuggled it in the cars. To me it doesn't make sense, if you want to stop the other crimes from happening stop giving them a way to fund it. Increase the punishment, make it more severe and I promise, you would probably see a significant change in this.
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 5:29:35 PM)
Dee -
You would not do 8 years for a million dollars. Trust me.
By the end of your 8th month, you'd give up that million and everything else you have in order to be free.
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 6:09:00 PM)
Why all the effort to decide his future now? None of us knows, hell, he might not even know. The point is that people like him are out there and they are very good at what they do. Let's not waste our predicting his fate and get busy protecting ourselves and demanding strong enforcement and prosecution of identity theft. A good thief steals more than your money or property...he/she steals and tarnishes your identity. There is no suitable restitution for damaging your name or your credit.
One old cop, Panhandle, Texas (Sent Dec 7, 2007 6:53:23 PM)
I have always believed once a thief, always a thief but then again a friend of mine proved me wrong on that after changing his lifestyle and he is the best person in the world now who I would trust my life with and not have any doubts. Some people are capable of changing and some are not.
Crystal Sparks, NV (Sent Dec 7, 2007 7:12:56 PM)
Can't believe you are publiscing this jerk.
(Sent Dec 7, 2007 7:23:50 PM)
They don't want to steal my identity...I'm too poor :((
Barry, TX (Sent Dec 7, 2007 8:09:07 PM)
what would be the sentence if one of his victums tracked him down and shot him
carlos (Sent Jan 4, 2008 8:53:11 AM)
what would be the sentence if one of his victums tracked him down and shot him
carlos (Sent Jan 4, 2008 8:53:20 AM)
I say set him up, with immunity, to steal the identity of judges, law makers, politicians, etc. so they can see what it's like. Then maybe the laws will be changed by these people once they get a taste of what it's like to be duped and the pain of it all.
Jay Stein, Anacortes, Wash. (Sent Jan 4, 2008 1:16:24 PM)
depends...if the person who tracks him down and shoots him is an illegal, he gets food stamps and an ID #!!!
(Sent Jan 4, 2008 1:16:58 PM)
Carlos, it depends if the person who tracks down and shoots is an illegal alien...most likely food stamps, health-care and an ID number is what they'll get.
Saundra, Nv (Sent Jan 4, 2008 1:21:33 PM)
Beth,
Obviously you werent one of this Idiot's victims...thank god for you!!
How anyone can defend this guy is beyond me. I agree with the general opinion of the rest of these people....this guy is a con artist and the likelyhood of him turning his life around longterm, is slim to none.
(Sent Jan 4, 2008 1:24:57 PM)
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