Mail Fraud and Identity Theft On The Rise Across the Country
Four women were arrested on Monday in California before they were able to attempt what looks to be mail-related identity theft and fraud crimes.
According to San Francisco news station KTVU, four female residents of Santa Clara County - 24-year-old Jayne Sippin, 22-year-old Veronica Perez, 28-year-old Evangelina Gillespie, and 32-year-old Sarah Revera - were arrested at a San Jose Days Inn by the district's React Enforcement Allied Computer Team.
According to a press release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office, two of the women arrested were free on parole from previous identity theft and fraud crimes. Among the items recovered in the hotel room were numerous items of stolen mail and counterfeit mailbox keys.
In total, the stolen mail retrieved by the REACT officers belonged to 100 people. No further details were given as to what the women had intended to do - or already done - with the identities they had access too.
Along with the stolen mail, methamphetamines and two stolen cars were also found at the hotel and are believed to have been in the possession of the women.
A mail fraud and identity theft scheme that was not stopped as quickly as the one in Santa Clara recently came to light at a post office in Perinton, New York. According to local ABC affiliate WHAM 13, identity thieves allegedly stole mail from 20 different people that had been mailed from a mailbox outside the post office.
After uncovering letters containing checks for utility payments, the thief allegedly changed the "pay to" line to a false name and then cashed them out. In total, postal investigators told the news station that the thief had been able to steal approximately $75,000.
The thieves in the New York case remain at large, with investigators warning that other banks in the area may be targeted next following identity theft statistics which show the increase of identity theft criminals in the state, WHAM reported.
