NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov../index.html

APRIL 12, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STURGEON WOMAN SENTENCED FOR IDENTITY THEFT,

CREDIT CARD FRAUD OF FORMER EMPLOYER

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Sturgeon, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for an identity theft and credit card fraud scheme in which she targeted her former employer.

Jennifer Lynette Furlong, 39, of Sturgeon, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey this morning to three years and two months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Furlong to pay $42,368 in restitution.

On Oct. 26, 2009, Furlong pleaded guilty to three counts of credit card fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

Furlong admitted that she stole identity information from her former employer at Forever Green Nursery in Columbia, Mo. Furlong worked as an office manager at Forever Green Nursery between March 2007 and March 2008. Furlong used the victim’s identity information to open credit card accounts and purchase thousands of dollars worth of goods and services.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

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