Four men from Franklin County, Missouri, have pleaded guilty to bank fraud after they used stolen checks from the U.S. Mail, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Matthew Cahill, 40, led the scheme between February 2020 and September 2021, where he and his associates stole personal and business checks, as well as bank account details and personal information, from mailboxes, residences, and vehicles.
The group altered or counterfeited the stolen checks and used them to make purchases at retail stores, deposit them, or cash them at banks. Cahill also accessed a victim’s account to make an unauthorized payment, resulting in a loss of $67,807, according to the department.
Cahill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of bank fraud. He is set to be sentenced on May 29.
Donald Anderson, 36, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud. Anderson was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to repay $26,527.
Joshua Hopkins, 35, admitted to two counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to repay $1,395.
Harvey Hale, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud. Hale was sentenced to one year in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to repay $19,550.
