June 10, 2009
-
News: Ex Beauty Queen and ID Theft
Former Miss Hawaii International 1992, Susan E. Shaw, has been indicted on several felonies including credit card fraud as she de-boarded a plane at the Honolulu Airport last month. The round trip airfare to and from Los Angeles along with more than 60 other roundtrip tickets were paid for using fraudulent cards. The former Miss Hawaii had stolen the id's of more than 11 individuals and obtained at least seven new credit card accounts in each of their names. She used the fraudulent cards to purchase the airfare tickets as well as thousands of dollars of apparel, store gift cards, and other miscellaneous items. At times, she would transfer debt from one card to pay another keeping the card active. Ms Shaw allegedly charged over $160,000 in fraudulent credit card charges between January 2008 and April 2009. All of the victims of the identity theft are residents of Hawaii; however, officials are exploring further to determine if any Southern California residents could have also been victimized. According to Honolulu Prosecutors, this identity theft case is one of the largest ever in Hawaii.
Officials say that Shaw obtained the personal information and credit reports of her victims and then applied for credit cards under their names. She would then submit false applications to the U.S. Post Office to forward the victim's mail. She monitored the mail closely in order to intercept the cards when they arrived. The credit card victims were not the only individuals to be duped by the ex-beauty queen. Apparently several men also fell victim of her deceit. She had numerous relationships with several men while living with one whom she had two children with, and engaged to another.
While law officials continue to investigate the possibility of more victims of Ms Shaw's alleged identity theft, she remains in custody under a $1 million bond. She has been charged with 122 felony counts including first degree identity theft, money laundering, credit card fraud, forgery, and first degree theft. This number is expected to grow.