Coordinated effort by YCSO deputies and detectives results in her arrest; Boyfriend also re-arrested
Sedona AZ (January 10, 2020) – On December 14, 2019, YCSO deputies were assigned to handle a fraud case with a connection to the Camp Verde Detention Center. The victim told deputies his credit was fraudulently used to bond out an inmate at the jail. The victim explained he previously used his credit to book a room at a Sedona area resort on November 28, 2019. When he received his credit statement a couple of weeks later, he noticed his card information had been used on November 28th to post a $13,625 bond for inmate Michael Ellison, 40, a transient, who was in the Camp Verde jail. The victim does not know Ellison. The transaction occurred via an online bonding service. The deputy immediately began working to restore credit to the victim’s account through the bonding company. Ellison was released from the jail as a result. His pending cases involved numerous drug related charges resulting from a Partner Against Narcotics Trafficking investigation.
Deputies contacted the resort where the victim used his credit card and learned Ellison’s girlfriend, Jasmine Sizelove, 30, a resident of the Village of Oak Creek, was an employee there. Resort security personnel confirmed that Sizelove handled the transaction involving the victim and thus had access to the credit card information. Deputies were able to review a jail phone call in which inmate Ellison and Sizelove discuss efforts to post bond for him.
On December 21, 2019, deputies located Sizelove in the Village of Oak Creek and arrested her as she denied any involvement. She was booked in the jail on charges including 3 counts of Fraud, and 2 counts of Fraud by Impersonation. She remains in-custody on a cash only $50,000 bond.
An assisting YCSO detective began reviewing video and audio contacts Ellison had with his sister and Sizelove while he was an inmate. Regarding Sizelove – Ellison tells her she is a good ‘Hustler’ and asks her to come up with a way to bond him out of jail. During another conversation with his sister, Ellison is heard explaining that he needs to get out of jail because he is facing up to ‘15 years in prison.’
During the detectives review, it was learned there were several attempts to use credit card information belonging to various resort guests in an attempt to post a bond. The detective did extensive work to determine that a majority of the IP addresses for these transactions were from Sizelove’s cell phone. The investigation remained active pending subpoenas to a communication carrier requesting the identity of a specific IP address involving the bond payment itself. In late December, the detective confirmed it was registered to the Sizelove home on Verde Valley School Road in the Village of Oak Creek.
Meanwhile, Ellison remained out on bond pending court action on the bond fraud.
On January 7, 2020, around 4:30 PM, a YCSO deputy conducted a traffic stop and found Ellison inside the vehicle. Ellison was in possession of stolen jewelry taken from a burglary in Cornville earlier that day. As a result, Ellison was arrested and booked on a theft charge and remains in-custody on a cash only bond of $25,000.
Deputies are working with the County Attorney and courts to reinstate Ellison’s fraudulent bond on the drug charges.