Jeffrey Bennett, Bank Fraud Conspiracy, New Jersey 2023

NEWARK, N.J. – A 27-year-old man from Essex County, New Jersey, has been accused of stealing check books and credit cards from the mail and using them to commit bank fraud, including depositing pandemic relief checks.

Jeffrey Bennett, of Irvington, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud after conspiring to fraudulently obtain money from victim financial institutions by depositing counterfeit checks and checks stolen from the mail.

According to court documents, Bennett and his conspirators arranged for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees to steal credit cards and blank check books from the mail in exchange for cash payments. USPS employees provided the checks to Bennett and his conspirators, who forged the signatures of the accountholders and negotiated the checks by making them payable to individuals who had given Bennett and his conspirators access to their accounts.

Bennett and his conspirators obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $366,000 from victim financial institutions.

Two of Bennett’s conspirators, Tashon Ragan, 22, of Hillside, New Jersey, and Jahaad Flip, 22, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and are awaiting sentencing. Charges are still pending against another conspirator, USPS employee Janel Blackman, 42, of Newark.

The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2022, for Bennett.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig credited 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, 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.

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