Ex-Detroit cop sentenced up to 20 years in ID scam

A former Detroit police officer has been sentenced to serve up to 20 years in prison for using false police reports to improve people’s credit scores.

Tamboura Kenyatta Jackson, 41, of Clinton Township was convicted last month of felony racketeering, forgery and bribery charges, Attorney General Bill Schuette said Friday.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Mark T. Slavens sentenced Jackson on Friday after a jury convicted him Dec. 23. He was to immediately serve 21/ 2 to 20 years in prison for racketeering, 11 months to 10 years for the public officer accepting bribes and 11 months to 14 years for forgery. The sentences will be served concurrently.

“Public officers who abuse the public’s trust for personal gain greatly undermine the integrity of law enforcement,” Schuette said. “Confidence in public safety is vital in Michigan’s turnaround.”

A co-defendant, Lisa Curtis, 35, of Macomb Township pleaded guilty in October to bribing Jackson and testified against him, officials said. Slavens sentenced her to two years of probation.

In 2009, Curtis told dozens of her clients she could improve their credit scores through her Waterford-based company, Bright Star Consulting, LLC, according to Schuette. She charged clients a fee between $200 and $1,000.

Without clients’ knowledge Curtis fabricated identity theft stories and provided Jackson with client information. Jackson then submitted false police reports to Experian, a national credit reporting agency, requesting the incidents of “identity theft” be removed from credit histories. Curtis paid Jackson $50 to $200 in bribes for the false police reports.

Jackson also used the scam to improve his own credit score by creating a false police report signed by another officer, without the officer’s knowledge, Schuette said. He had Curtis submit the claim to the credit reporting agency.

The Detroit Police Department suspended Jackson without pay after Schuette filed charges against him. He later resigned from the department.

“This department does not and will not tolerate such egregious acts by our members,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said in a statement Friday. “I would like to emphasize that the actions of this employee are not conducive to the vast majority of officers who serve the citizens of this city with the utmost level of integrity and dedication.”

cwilliams@detroitnews.com

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