Springfield, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Amy M. Shelby, 38, of Madison, Illinois, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, to be followed by three years on supervised release, and restitution of $112,383.52, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Shelby was indicted by a grand jury in July 2012 and later pled guilty to the federal offense of wire fraud.
The instant offense was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), following a complaint made by James Green Management (JGM), the owner and management office of Oakmont Mini-Storage. Prior to the complaint, Pitney Bowes Visa credit card company contacted JGM to inquire about delinquent payments on an existing Pitney Bowes account, which JGM was unaware existed. Subsequent audit results found Amy Shelby, the manager of Oakmont Mini- Storage, had applied for a Pitney Bowes commercial credit card for Oakmont Mini-Storage in 2006, which held her name. Amy Shelby had used the commercial credit card to purchase numerous fraudulent charges, which included personal purchases such as for perfume and satellite television service, payments for personal bills, and a monthly credit report service. The audit also found Shelby had access to Oakmont Mini-Storage’s operating bank account(s), and she was paying the Pitney Bowes credit card bills, and additional personal bills, with company funds. In addition, the audit found Shelby had simply kept numerous cash deposits and/or payments made to Oakmont Mini- Storage for storage units.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman R. Smith.