Woodbury man sentenced to probation for credit card fraud

Krystal Frasier KSTP

A man accused of stealing wallets at construction sites across the metro area and charging more than $15,000 to credit cards has been sentenced to serve probation in Ramsey County.

On Friday, Jamel Andre Gaither, 34, was sentenced by Judge Nicole Starr to five years of supervised probation for one count of credit card fraud.

Starr also sentenced him to 135 days in a Ramsey County correctional facility, but he received full credit for time already served. However, a 23-month sentence at the St. Cloud prison was stayed for five years, if he follows all terms of his probation conditions.

Four other charges of card fraud in this particular case were dismissed during Friday’s sentencing as part of a plea agreement made earlier this year.

In that plea agreement, court documents show prosecutors made a deal regarding the following cases in Ramsey County:

Plead guilty to one count of credit card fraud in a second case with one other count being dismissed.
Plead guilty to one count of credit card fraud in a third case with four others counts being dismissed.
Plead guilty to one count of credit card fraud in a fourth case with two other counts being dismissed.
In addition, a handful of other cases were dismissed completely. In those cases, Gaither was charged with three counts of credit card fraud and one count of receiving stolen property.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the thefts happened between September 2021 and Sept. 12, 2022.

According to criminal complaints, Gaither allegedly broke into vehicles parked at or near construction sites and stole wallets, then used credit cards from the wallets to buy dozens of gift cards at various stores.

Similar incidents were reported in Shoreview, Arden Hills, Roseville, Woodbury, St. Paul, West St. Paul, North St. Paul, Richfield, Medina, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Shakopee, Robbinsdale, Blaine, Burnsville, White Bear Lake and Minnetonka.

Gaither has also been formally charged in Hennepin and Anoka counties.

In Anoka County, Gaither was sentenced for one count of credit card fraud in July of 2023, where he was put on supervised probation for five years and had a 12-month sentence at the St. Cloud prison stayed for five years.

In Hennepin County, a guilty petition states he pleaded guilty in August to one count of credit card fraud in one case and also agreed to the following:

Plead guilty to two counts of credit card fraud but have three counts dismissed in a second case.
Plead guilty to one count of credit card fraud in a third case.
Plead guilty to one count of credit card fraud in a fourth case.
Plead guilty to one count of credit card fraud in a fifth case.
Dismissal of at least two other cases, where he was charged with at least one count of credit card fraud.

He was then sentenced in August to spend three years on supervised probation. A 15-month prison sentence was stayed for three years, and he received full credit for time previously served for the 90-day sentence in the Hennepin County workhouse.