Investigators at the Collin County Sheriff’s Office are searching for a woman they say helped orchestrate an elaborate scheme to funnel money, illegally, to inmates in jail.
“We don’t want people to be locked up for a criminal charge then commit another crime while they’re inside and profit from it,” said Deputy Chief Mark Sanderson who supervises a new unit devoted to gathering criminal intelligence inside the jail.
Sanderson says a tip last November lead the unit to open an investigation that eventually uncovered 45 fraudulent deposits to the commissary accounts of three inmates, adding up to $8,940. Shaun D. Scott, Bryce A. Heese and Michael A. Hoffman received the money, according to investigators.
Investigators say the three inmates were assisted by a woman named Christal Bryant, 34, who is still at large. Bryant is accused of using stolen credit card numbers to deposit money to the inmates’ commissary accounts.
According to the sheriff’s office, the inmates used the money to make phone calls, buy commissary items in the jail and in some cases, make arrangements to have money released to outside third parties.
Sanderson explained leftover money on commissary accounts is returned to inmates when they get out of jail or can be released to someone outside the jail (often a friend or family member) with their permission.
Another woman, Crystal D. Courtney, is accused of receiving money in the scheme.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“Through interviews we know that at some point they were made aware of it, that the money was there,” said Sanderson. “They knew it wasn’t their money.”
The case was launched by the new Collin County Sheriff’s Office Detention Intelligence Unit, a team of investigators that focus on the jail.
“The jail is a place where there is a lot of concentrated criminal intelligence and so creating a unit that can effectively mine that intelligence out of the jail and then work with our criminal investigators, we’ve had good results with that,” said Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner.
“The systems that we have in place just gives us a better daily look at what goes on inside of our jail. It’s through that lens that we can be more effective,” he added.
The suspects in the case are facing Theft and Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity charges.
Christal M. Bryant is at large. The Collin County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about her location to give them at call.
