Marie Joy Tanamor-Steffan, Wire Fraud, Maryland 2016

State: Maryland
Category: Fraud &#038; Financial Crimes
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/baltimore-woman-indicted-fraud-schemes-which-she-allegedly-returns-stolen-merchandise" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

Baltimore Woman Indicted for Wire Fraud Schemes

A federal grand jury has indicted Marie Joy Tanamor-Steffan, 42, for wire fraud and false use of a passport in connection with schemes to defraud two retail chains.

Tanamor-Steffan was arrested on November 16 and had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore today, where she was ordered to be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for November 21, 2016 at 2:30.

The indictment alleges that Tanamor-Steffan defrauded a retail lingerie chain by shoplifting items from stores in Maryland, Virginia, and other states. She would then exchange the shoplifted items at another store for items costing slightly more in total.

According to the indictment, Tanamor-Steffan presented a Philippine passport as her identification, but allegedly altered the passport number for each exchange to avoid triggering the store limit. She paid the additional amount due with her debit card and received a receipt for the transaction.

The indictment further alleges that Tanamor-Steffan conducted a similar scheme targeting a home improvement store. She would go to the store with a receipt for merchandise, but without the merchandise. She would then select the items on the receipt from inventory in the store, take those items to customer service, and "return" the items she had just selected but not purchased, using the receipt she brought to the store with her.

The indictment seeks the forfeiture of at least $61,322.42, alleged to be the proceeds of the fraud schemes. If convicted, Tanamor-Steffan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of seven counts of wire fraud, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for passport fraud.

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