A 64-year-old Portsmouth woman with a decades-long history of theft, fraud, forgery, and credit card-related cases has been indicted again — this time on charges involving a stolen debit or credit card.
The Scioto County Grand Jury indicted Jnita Gulley, 64, of Portsmouth, on charges of theft, four counts of telecommunications fraud, and receiving stolen property.
According to the indictment, the case happened between July 12 and July 13.
Prosecutors allege Gulley obtained or used a debit or credit card without the owner’s consent. The indictment also accuses her of using telecommunications as part of a scheme to defraud and of receiving, keeping, or disposing of a debit or credit card she knew or had reason to believe was stolen.
The latest indictment is not Gulley’s first brush with similar allegations.
Court records show Gulley was arrested in 2021 in an identity theft-related case and ultimately pleaded guilty to theft. She was sentenced to six months in prison, ordered to pay restitution and court costs, and the sentence was ordered to run consecutive to another case for a total intended sentence of 17 months.
In 2019, Gulley was indicted on theft, 14 counts of telecommunications fraud, and petty theft. She later pleaded guilty to theft and telecommunications fraud. The court sentenced her to three years of community control and 90 days in jail, with part of the jail time suspended if restitution was made.
Her record goes back even further.
In 2007, court records show Gulley pleaded guilty to misuse of a credit card. Records from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction listed a four-year sentence in that case.
In 2000, she pleaded guilty to forgery and was placed on community control for five years. The court also ordered restrictions related to checks and checking accounts, including that she was not to write checks, open a checking account, or cash a check.
Portsmouth Municipal Court records also show older cases involving forgery, passing bad checks, grand theft, and receiving stolen property, along with several dismissed or waived cases.
That is what makes the new indictment stand out. This is not a one-off accusation involving a card. It is another case in a long court history involving money, cards, checks, theft, fraud, and stolen property.
For victims, these crimes can be more than a missing card or a bad charge. A stolen debit or credit card can drain accounts, wreck budgets, create overdraft fees, force people to cancel cards, and leave them fighting to prove they did not make the purchases.
The current charges are allegations. Gulley is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.