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Daughter of Malcolm X gets probation for ID theft

Aug 05, 2011 Brian Bradley

Civil rights activist Malcolm X's youngest daughter was recently ordered to pay back more than $55,000 after she was found to have illegally used credit cards to make purchases with false ID authentication, Reuters reports. Malikah Shabazz pleaded guilty in June to opening credit cards in the name of the widow of one of her father's bodyguards, Khaula Bakr. Shabazz obtained Bakr's personal information by claiming she needed to fill out paperwork involving a "child care matter." "The defendant, who preyed upon the trusting nature of a once close family friend, has admitted her guilt in committing a serious felony offense and will be ordered to make her victims financially whole," district attorney Richard Brown said in a statement, quoted by the news source. Shabazz received five years' probation for the crime. The Daily News reports that a judge threatened her with seven years of jail time if she refused to pay back the funds. The news source notes that Bakr learned of the misappropriated funds when she received a letter from her bank demanding $30,000 in overdue payments.