A woman from Orlando has been sentenced in connection with a conspiracy to defraud and steal identities throughout the country, including from an elderly woman in Galesburg with dementia.

Jasmine Annette Bradley, 37, was sentenced on September 6 to 16.5 years, or 198 months in prison. In February of this year, Bradley pled guilty to 10 counts, including one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

At the sentencing hearing, the government gave evidence showing that between April 2018 and June 2019, Bradley participated in an elaborate conspiracy to steal the identities of individuals, get control of their phone numbers and steal their mail. With these stolen identities, Bradley and her co-conspirators rented luxury apartments, paid utilities, rented cars, took shopping trips, made spa appointments and lived a lavish lifestyle. The victims were scattered across the U.S. and tended to be older people with a good working history and credit rating.

At Bradley’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid heard from several of the victims in person. They told the court about the damage Bradley had inflicted on their lives and about their resulting anxiety. One victim told a story about how Bradley stole the phone number that was connected to her terminally ill husband’s medical monitoring device. As a result, it was not connected to his doctor’s office for several days. The government told how Bradley had exploited the Galesburg woman’s dementia to further her fraud and delay detection so she could continue spending the woman’s money.

The government said Bradley’s scheme had at least 22 victims, including three property-management companies, ten financial institutions and nine people from Missouri, Ohio, Arizona, Florida and Galesburg. Bradley was responsible for a combined intended loss of $430,409.34.

Judge Shadid noted that the victims had lived their lives in an admirable fashion, despite challenges including a terminally ill spouse. He said the victims had abided by a simple rule: “If it’s not yours, keep your hands off it.” He contrasted the victims’ lives with Bradley, whom he described as the type of person who only takes and does nothing to give back.

Judge Shadid found that the sentencing guidelines range was not sufficient, given the severity of the offense conduct and the resulting harm to the victims and their families. He imposed above-guidelines, concurrent sentences of 150 months’ imprisonment on the conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud counts. He also imposed two consecutive 24-month sentences for the aggravated identity theft offenses, resulting in an aggregate sentence of 198 months.

The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Office; the North Olmstad, Ohio, Police Department; Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Police Department; the Yuma, Arizona, Police Department; and Seminole County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas F. McMeyer and Paul B. Morris represented the government in the prosecution.