Cedar Rapids Trio Sentenced for Mail Theft, Counterfeiting

Three Cedar Rapids men are behind bars after orchestrating a brazen scheme to steal U.S. mail, alter checks, and pass counterfeit bills across eastern Iowa. Joshua Chalk, 31, Darrell Turner, 50, and Kevin Kappmeyer, 51, pleaded guilty to federal charges including possession of stolen mail, aggravated identity theft, and counterfeiting U.S. currency. Their crimes bled victims dry, racking up over $21,000 in losses—all for quick cash and pizza runs.

Joshua Chalk was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison on charges of manufacturing counterfeit currency and aggravated identity theft. On July 17, 2017, Chalk admitted in court to printing a fake $100 bill in March 2017—using it to buy pizza through his girlfriend. He also admitted to altering stolen checks with his name as payee, including one he tried to cash on December 26, 2016, at a local check-cashing outlet. Chalk was ordered to pay $11,463.45 in restitution and faces three years of supervised release.

Darrell Turner, 50, got 38 months behind bars after pleading guilty to possession of stolen mail and identity theft on April 18, 2017. Turner admitted to stealing checks from mailboxes across Cedar Rapids, changing the payee to his own name, and attempting to cash them. On January 6, 2017, he walked into a local bank with one such forged check. Ordered to repay $7,271.13, Turner’s sentence was boosted by a criminal record stretching back to 1985—littered with theft, forgery, and 12 prior violations of probation or parole.

Kevin Kappmeyer, 51, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison on February 15, 2018, after pleading guilty to the same charges as Turner. At his June 28, 2017 hearing, Kappmeyer admitted to possessing and cashing a stolen check with his name forged as payee on January 4, 2017. He was ordered to repay $2,680.82. Judge Linda R. Reade slammed Kappmeyer for a criminal history dating back to age 14, including convictions in Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Florida for assault and drunk driving.

All three were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by U.S. District Judge Linda R. Reade, who showed no leniency. She cited Turner and Kappmeyer’s extensive records as grounds for upward sentencing departures. Each man was taken into U.S. Marshals custody immediately, with no possibility of parole—federal prison is a one-way ticket until full term is served under supervision.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Cedar Rapids Police Department, and Marion Police Department. Court records are available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl under file numbers 17-CR-17-LRR, 17-CR-44-LRR, and 17-CR-47-LRR. Follow updates at @USAO_NDIA.

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