Audrey Lynne Avila, Bank Fraud, Texas 2021

A San Antonio woman has been sentenced to 45 months in prison for her role in a brazen bank fraud scheme.

Audrey Lynne Avila, 32, was found guilty of one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme, which involved stealing credit cards and using them to make purchases.

According to court documents, from July 2017 through June 2018, Avila carried out a scheme to defraud banks by filling out change of address forms with the U.S. Postal Service and having other people's mail delivered to mailing addresses she controlled.

She then used stolen credit cards and checks to buy items and deposit funds into her bank accounts.

On January 25, 2022, Avila pleaded guilty to the charges, and on February 23, 2022, she was sentenced to 45 months in prison and ordered to pay $12,443.64 in restitution.

'This sentencing demonstrates that identity theft and fraud have serious consequences in the Western District of Texas,' said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff.

'The sentencing of Audrey Lynne Avila to almost four years in federal prison, in addition to forfeiture of assets, brings some closure to the anxiety and frustration that was inflicted upon her victims,' said Scott Fix, Inspector in Charge, Houston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with valuable help from the Comal County Sheriff's Office, investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Harris prosecuted the case.

Audrey Lynne Avila, a 32-year-old San Antonio resident, was arrested on June 4, 2021, and has been in federal custody since then.

Avila's scheme started with stealing residential mail and grew into bank fraud, and it now begins a long, drawn-out phase of payback, a stern reminder that postal inspectors are in the background watchfully helping to protect U.S. Mail.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/san-antonio-woman-sentenced-bank-fraud