A former employee of a financial firm in Missouri has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross handed down a 65-month sentence to Calvin Lee Gray, 24, who used his access to sensitive customer information as part of a scheme that spanned from August 2022 through April 2024.
Gray accessed private data for hundreds of accounts without authorization and stole personal details such as birthdates, Social Security numbers, and financial account information. He used this information to impersonate customers in communications with other financial institutions, change their addresses to his own, and have credit cards reissued in his name. Gray also applied for new lines of credit using stolen identities.
According to court documents, Gray successfully stole $357,582 out of an attempted $550,000 from dozens of victims. The funds were used for travel, luxury goods purchases, gambling, and money transfers to accounts he controlled. In one instance, Gray opened a checking account under a customer’s name and withdrew $1,780 through ATM transactions after transferring other victims’ money into the account.
Gray fabricated identification documents with his photo but the personal information of others so he could access additional financial accounts. He also created fake identification documents in the name of his mother, Joann Helms.
Helms participated by withdrawing money from one victim’s account twice via ATM and allowing her son to use her bank account to launder proceeds from the crime. She joined him on shopping trips during which lavish purchases were made and used some of the illicit funds for other purchases including methamphetamine.
Gray pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and fraud related to identification documents. Helms pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and fraud involving identification documents; she is scheduled for sentencing on Thursday.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred Gray from working with or associating with any FINRA-member firms.
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use. With the collaborative efforts of our federal law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others to enrich themselves. Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims including those most vulnerable,” said Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll.
