SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Toni Tinay, 24, of Oakley, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to three and a half years in prison for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possessing counterfeited U.S. Postal Service keys, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Tinay was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and pay $2,936 in restitution to victims.
According to court documents, between February and August 2018, Tinay participated in a scheme to defraud banks in which she and at least one accomplice used counterfeited U.S. Postal Service keys to break into residential mailboxes throughout the Eastern and Northern Districts of California. Tinay and the accomplice stole mail from the mailboxes and collected bankcards, personal and business checks, and government-issued IDs. Tinay then fraudulently activated and used the bankcards to withdraw cash at ATMs and make purchases at retail establishments. On Aug. 29, 2018, when she was arrested in Granite Bay, she and her accomplice were found to be in possession of stolen mail and at least four counterfeited U.S. Postal Service keys, which they intended to use to steal additional mail.
This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, and the California Highway Patrol. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Artuz is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
