Detroit Man Sentenced on Identity Theft Charges

St. Louis, MO - Shukree Melton, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced to 2 years for aggravated identity theft in connection with a fraudulent credit card and gift card scheme.  He appeared before U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey in St. Louis today.

Melton was arrested at a shopping center in St. Louis County on July 28, 2015, with his three co-conspirators who had traveled down from Michigan.  A search of the group’s vehicle and motel room revealed numerous fake store gift cards, a card encoder, a card reader and other device-making equipment, all of which has been seized and criminally forfeited.  The group had successfully passed numerous fake gift cards before their arrest. 

In addition to his prison sentence, Melton was ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his scheme pursuant to the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Office of the United States Secret Service.