NEW YORK (AP) — A daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X has pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of an elderly family friend to run up more than $55,000 in credit card bills.
Malikah (mah-LEE’-kah) Shabazz was freed from jail Thursday after entering the plea at a courthouse in New York City. She had been in custody since her Feb. 18 arrest in North Carolina.
Her deal with prosecutors calls for her to pay back the money and be on probation for five years.
Queens prosecutors say the 46-year-old used the name of a 70-year-old woman whose late husband was one of Malcolm X’s bodyguards to acquire credit cards that Shabazz used to run up big debts.
Her lawyer, Russell Rothberg, says Shabazz is excited to be reunited with her teenage daughter.
