WICHITA, KAN. - Four defendants appeared in federal Court in Wichita Friday on federal charges of conspiring to steal U.S. mail and commit bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
The indictment alleges conspirators used sticky rodent traps to steal mail from U.S. mail boxes, including checks that had been placed in the mail. Conspirators cashed the stolen checks by adding another person’s name to the payee line, removing the name of the original payee and replacing it with another name, or manufacturing counterfeit checks using account information on the stolen checks.
A federal grand jury in Wichita indicted the following defendants:
Justin Anderson, 19, Wichita, Kan., one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail theft, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, five counts of theft or receipt of stolen mail and two counts of bank fraud.
Jeremy Robinson, 35, Wichita, Kan., one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail theft, three counts of theft or receipt of stolen mail, and one count of bank fraud.
Madison P. Allen, 19, Wichita, Kan., one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail theft, one count of bank fraud.
Jennifer R. Harper, 34, Wichita, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail theft, one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud: A maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million.
Mail theft, conspiracy to commit mail theft: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.
Unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction: A maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking: Not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000.
Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory two years to run consecutive to any other sentence and a fine up to $250,000.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the Wichita Police Department and the Derby Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
