According to reports, one of Malcolm X’s daughters, Malikah Shabazz, is being held in a North Carolina jail, based on a warrant for her arrest in Queens, NY. The 45 year-old is accused of stealing the identity of the widow of one of her father’s former bodyguards. She is also accused of using the woman’s “identity to run up $55,000 in credit card bills” from August 2006 to November 2007. Upon Shabazz’s arrest on Friday evening, authorities discovered that she “had several outstanding warrants issued in 2009″, which include “charges for grand larceny, forgery and identity theft.”
Shabazz, on the other hand, has denied that she stole her from her longtime friend and is upset that she “would make up these allegations”. Her lawyer and twin sister released the following statements:
Issued statement by Shabazz’s lawyer:
She’s known this woman. She shared a house with her for a while in South Carolina. That woman was going to be the guardian for Malikah Shabazz’s daughter.
Issued statement by her twin, Malaak:
We’re all sisters, despite the false and vicious reports put out in the media,” Malaak Shabazz said Tuesday. “We love her and our niece dearly. We’ll get through this.
Shabazz was denied bond in a North Carolina courtroom on Tuesday. If convicted, Shabazz may serve up to seven years in a federal prison.
( Photos: The Associated Press )