STRATFORD, CT – Rachael Alexander, 40, of Stratford, Connecticut, is headed to federal prison for 41 months after admitting her role in a pair of sophisticated fraud schemes that bilked lenders and the U.S. Postal Service out of over $1.3 million. U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton handed down the sentence in New Haven on February 16, 2018, also ordering Alexander to pay $443,807.97 in restitution.
The first scheme centered around the theft of postal money orders. Working with her husband, Marc Anthony Alexander, the pair pilfered blank money orders from an Old Greenwich post office. They then used computer software to create convincing forgeries, cashing them through a network of recruited individuals. Bernard Harris, of Bridgeport, acted as a key organizer, recruiting at least five people to cash the fraudulent money orders at ATMs and bank teller windows, receiving a cut of the proceeds. Harris, in turn, received additional money orders from the Alexanders as compensation. The total loss from the money order scam reached $313,570.
But the Alexanders weren’t stopping at postal fraud. They simultaneously ran a second, even more ambitious scheme involving the fraudulent sale of financed vehicles. The couple used “straw buyers” – individuals with good credit – to secure financing for high-end cars. After obtaining the vehicles, they would sign power of attorney forms, effectively giving the Alexanders control. They then falsely claimed the titles had been lost to the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, submitting forged letters from financing companies stating the loans had been paid off. Once a replacement title was secured, the Alexanders would quickly resell the cars to other dealerships, leaving the original car loans unpaid and in default. The fraudulent vehicle scheme involved over $1 million in bad loans.
Federal investigators discovered that the illicit funds generated from both schemes were used to purchase a substantial amount of luxury goods. The investigation, a collaborative effort by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Westport Police Department, and Greenwich Police Department, began to unravel in April 2016 with the arrests of Rachael Alexander, Marc Alexander, and Bernard Harris. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller prosecuted the case.
Marc Alexander, Rachael’s husband, received a 96-month prison sentence on January 17, 2017, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Harris received a 30-month sentence on January 16, 2018, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and a separate fraudulent check scheme. Rachael Alexander, who had been released on bond, was ordered to surrender to authorities by April 18, 2018, to begin serving her 41-month term.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the reach and complexity of modern fraud schemes. While the Alexanders sought to profit through deception, their actions ultimately led to significant financial losses for lenders and the Postal Service, and now, to lengthy prison sentences for themselves and their accomplice. The investigation highlights the importance of interagency cooperation in combating financial crime.
Related Federal Cases
- Eduardo Rodriguez-Ayala, Passport Fraud, Waterloo IA, 2013 · Connecticut
- Willie C. Grant, ID Theft and Tax Refund Fraud, Macon GA, 2008 · Pennsylvania
- Steven A. Murray, Pesticide Fraud, Washington GA, 2023 · Georgia
- James Dunham, Mail and Wire Fraud, Boston MA, 2023 · New Mexico
- David Rivera, Election Fraud, Nashville TN, 2016 · Tennessee
Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free
Browse More
