A brazen scheme to steal from the mail has landed an Essex County man behind bars for four years.
Jeffrey Bennett, 27, of Irvington, New Jersey, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal check books and credit cards from the mail, deposit fraudulent checks, including pandemic relief checks, and use stolen credit cards without authorization.
According to documents filed in the case, Bennett conspired with others to fraudulently obtain money from victim financial institutions by depositing counterfeit checks and checks stolen from the mail into accounts at these financial institutions and withdrawing funds before the financial institutions identified the fraudulent checks and blocked further withdrawals.
Bennett and his conspirators arranged for U.S. Postal Service employees to steal credit cards and blank check books from the mail in exchange for cash payments. The checks were then forged and negotiated by making them payable to individuals, some of whom were New Jersey high school students, who had given Bennett and his conspirators access to their accounts, also in exchange for cash.
Bennett and his conspirators obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $366,000 from victim financial institutions.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Bennett to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $61,438.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, IRS – Criminal Investigation, and the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Fayer and Elaine K. Lou in Newark.
The case is another example of the devastating impact of mail theft on innocent victims and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.
Bennett was previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today by videoconference.
NEWARK, N.J. – February 2020 to May 2020, Bennett conspired to fraudulently obtain money from victim financial institutions by depositing counterfeit checks and checks stolen from the mail into accounts at these financial institutions and withdrawing funds before the financial institutions identified the fraudulent checks and blocked further withdrawals.
The investigation leading to today’s guilty plea was conducted by postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero; special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi; special agents with IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez; and special agents with the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay.
Related Federal Cases
- Sato Satka, $3.7M Credit Union Bank Fraud, Lakewood NJ, 2024 · New Jersey
- Barry Horrow, Bank Fraud, PA 2023 · Washington
- Ricardo Reid, Mail and Wire Fraud Conspiracy, New Jersey 2024 · Virginia
- Michael P. Klekamp, Bank Fraud, Virginia 2024 · New York
- Derrell Lee, Identity Theft and Bank Fraud, VT 2024 · New York
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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