BOSTON - Roukayatou Damerogo, 32, a citizen of the Republic of Togo, residing in East Hartford, Conn., was arrested on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, and charged in federal court in Boston with one count of identity theft and one count of mail fraud. U.S Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy scheduled a detention and probable cause hearing for Monday, Oct. 2, 2017.
According to court documents, in August 2017, a Cape Cod resident contacted the United States Post Office to report overdue mail deliveries. Further inquiry showed that an unknown person had placed a “mail hold" on the customer’s residence. When the customer traveled to his USPS branch to remove the hold and to pick up his mail, he found a box addressed to him containing 10 new Fitbit Exercise Bands. The customer had previously been the victim of fraudulent credit card transactions and believed the Fitbit purchases stemmed from the compromised credit card.
On Aug. 16, 2017, an individual purporting to be the USPS customer called USPS inquiring about the package of Fitbits. USPS informed law enforcement and they coordinated a time for the package to be delivered to the fraudulent customer, later revealed to be Damerogo. Immediately after retrieving the package, law enforcement stopped Damerogo, questioned her, and placed her under arrest.
The charge of identity theft provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Damerogo, who is illegally present in the United States, will also be subject to deportation. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Brewster Police Chief Richard Koch made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting this case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
