Emily Anna-Lee Sturgis, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud, Missouri 2024

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Joplin Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud Conspiracy

A Joplin man and woman have been found guilty of stealing mail from residents in Joplin as part of a conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

Emily Anna-Lee Sturgis, 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Monday, July 22, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and to one count of bank fraud. Her co-defendant, Aaron M. Blake, 28, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2024, to the same charges, as well as to one count of aggravated identity theft.

Sturgis and Blake admitted they conspired from December 2022 to Jan. 26, 2023, to steal mail out of residential mailboxes and off porches in Joplin. The stolen mail included credit cards, debit cards, checks, cash, jewelry, and documents that contained personal identifying information.

Blake, with the knowledge and assistance of Sturgis, used the stolen personal information to open credit card accounts and bank accounts under those stolen names. He then used these fraudulently created credit and bank accounts to make unlawful purchases.

Sturgis and Blake attempted to obtain at least $13,845 from their victims and did obtain at least $12,482 from their victims. Under federal statutes, Sturgis and Blake each is subject to a sentence of up to 60 years in federal prison without parole. Blake is also subject to a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison without parole.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Carthage, Mo., Police and the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office.