Stratford woman Rachael Alexander, 40, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison on February 16, 2018, for her role in two brazen fraud schemes that ripped off more than $1.3 million from banks, dealerships, and the U.S. Postal Service. U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton handed down the sentence in New Haven, ordering Alexander to serve 41 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller, marks the end of a years-long investigation into a tightly wired criminal operation run from Connecticut’s Gold Coast.
The first scheme centered on the theft and counterfeiting of U.S. Postal money orders. Alexander and her husband, Marc Anthony Alexander, stole blank money orders from the Old Greenwich Post Office, then used computer fonts to forge denominations and pass them off as legitimate. They enlisted Bernard Harris of Bridgeport to recruit a crew of cashers—individuals who deposited or cashed the fake money orders at banks and ATMs. Harris managed at least five operatives, skimming a cut before funneling the bulk of the $313,570 haul back to the Alexanders. In return, they paid Harris with stolen money orders he could cash for personal profit.
The second fraud ring targeted high-end car dealerships through a straw buyer scam. The Alexanders recruited individuals with decent credit to apply for vehicle financing on luxury cars they never intended to pay for. After the loans went through, Rachael and Marc Alexander took possession of the vehicles, using power of attorney forms to trick the Connecticut DMV into issuing duplicate titles. They falsified letters claiming the loans were paid in full, then sold the cars to third-party dealers. The original loans defaulted, leaving victims on the hook for more than $1 million in unpaid debt.
Investigations by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, U.S. Postal Service OIG, U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and local police in Westport and Greenwich uncovered the Alexanders’ lavish spending spree funded by the fraud. Luxury goods, cash, and personal indulgences were purchased with stolen funds. As part of her sentence, Judge Arterton ordered Rachael Alexander to pay $443,807.97 in restitution—covering both the $313,570 postal scheme and portions of the auto fraud.
Her husband, Marc Alexander, was sentenced to 96 months in prison on April 11, 2017, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Bernard Harris, the middleman in the money order ring, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and a separate wire fraud count tied to a fraudulent check scam. He was sentenced to 30 months on January 16, 2018. All three were arrested April 26, 2016, in a coordinated takedown.
Rachael Alexander, who remains free on bond, was ordered to report to prison on April 18, 2018. Her guilty pleas—entered January 17, 2017—to the same charges as her husband sealed her fate in a federal system cracking down on organized financial crime. With stolen money orders, forged titles, and exploited identities, the Alexanders turned Stratford into a hub of high-stakes fraud—until the feds shut it down.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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