KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The grimy streets of Kansas City saw a woman face the music today as Aviance Shepard, 34, pleaded guilty to bank fraud involving a stolen and altered check. In March 2023, Shepard’s shenanigans netted her a $881,324 check that she swiped from the United Parcel Service mail stream. With audacity, she claimed this loot for herself by opening a business account under the check’s payee name at a local financial institution.
March 27, 2023, marked the day Shepard’s fraud spree kicked into high gear. She deposited the pilfered check into her new account, only to withdraw $20,000 in cold cash and obtain five cashier’s checks totaling $320,000 on March 28th for her cronies.
The real payor of the check caught wind of the theft when they stopped payment after realizing it had been lifted from a UPS package. Unfortunately for Shepard, the bank had already rubber-stamped her $340,000 heist before receiving the stop order. Under federal law, Shepard now faces up to 30 years in federal prison without parole for her bank fraud antics.
The sentencing hearing will be a spectacle of justice once the U.S. Probation Office wraps up its presentence investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney is handling this case with precision, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service are the ones who unearthed Shepard’s dirty deeds.
Don’t expect a plea deal to shield this fraudster from the federal bench’s wrath. The only thing Shepard can bank on now is a court date that will likely send her away for a long stretch behind bars.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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