71
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2011
Susan Shaw appeared in Circuit Court in 2011. A state judge sentenced former beauty queen and convicted identity thief Susan Shaw to five years in prison Wednesday for padding the credit card bills of customers of a Downtown Honolulu bar where she worked as a waitress to increase her tips.
A state judge sentenced former beauty queen and convicted identity thief Susan Shaw to five years in prison Wednesday for padding the credit card bills of customers of a Downtown Honolulu bar where she worked as a waitress to increase her tips.
Shaw is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for stealing the personal information of nearly two dozen people, using it to obtain credit cards in their names and making hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraudulent purchases. That sentence expires in 2029.
Circuit Judge Faauuga Tootoo is allowing Shaw to serve both sentences at the same time. The Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how much more of each sentence Shaw will have to serve before she will be eligible for early release.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter did not ask Tootoo to run the two sentences back-to-back or to impose a mandatory minimum on the five-year term.
A state jury found Shaw, 44, guilty in April of the fraudulent use of a credit card and computer fraud. Square Barrels owner Thomas Ray told the jury that Shaw padded the bills of 105 customers on the bar’s computerized credit card charging system between January and May last year. Shaw was on work furlough from her previous conviction when she started working at the downtown bar.
Ray said he reimbursed the 105 customers the $717 Shaw stole from them but did not ask the court to order Shaw to repay him.
Shaw elected not to make a statement before receiving her sentence. Her lawyer Thomas Otake suggested Shaw may file an appeal.
She pleaded guilty in 2011 to 140 counts of theft, identity theft, credit card theft, forgery, money laundering, unauthorized possession of confidential information and using a computer to commit her crimes involving 23 Oahu residents and seven credit card companies.
The state said Shaw used the money she stole to support a jet-setting lifestyle in which she maintained homes and boyfriends in Kailua and Manhattan Beach, California. Shaw is the 1992 Miss Hawaii International.
By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the Terms of Service. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our guidelines.
Having trouble with comments? Learn more here.