Plea Agreement Recommends Sentence of 36 Months of Imprisonment
ALBUQUERQUE - Ralph Eastman, 48, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty yesterday in federal court to conspiracy, fraud, identify theft and theft of mail charges. Under the terms of Eastman’s plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Eastman and co-defendant Katie Carrillo, 26, also of Albuquerque, were charged in a 16-count indictment on Aug. 23, 2016, with conspiracy, ten counts of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of theft of mail. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the offenses from Dec. 2015 through April 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M., by stealing mail and packages from cluster mailboxes located in apartment complexes. The mail stolen included checkbooks, checks, ATM cards, PIN numbers and personal identifiers of victims, which the defendants allegedly used to commit further crimes.
During yesterday’s change of plea hearing, Eastman pled guilty to the charges against him in the indictment, namely, conspiracy, eight counts of bank fraud, and two counts of theft of mail. Eastman also pled guilty to a felony information charging him with aggravated identify theft. In entering the guilty plea, Eastman admitted that from Dec. 2015 through April 2016, he conspired with others to steal mail and packages specifically to obtain financial information and forms of identification. Eastman further admitted that he and others altered checks and used them at local businesses in exchange for goods, services and online transactions. Eastman also admitted that he and others used stolen identifications and personal information to facilitate fraudulent transactions.
In his plea agreement, Eastman also acknowledged that he and others stole mail and packages from authorized depositories for the U.S. Postal Service through mailboxes located at an Albuquerque apartment complex on March 9, 2016 and March 12, 2016.
Carrillo has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment. Charges in indictments are only accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The U.S. Postal Service, the Albuquerque Police Department and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei and Paul Mysliwiec.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
