Former Attorney Sentenced To More Than Eleven Years For Bank And Mail Fraud Conspiracy

Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Mark W. Jackson (62), a former resident of Pinellas County and a former Florida attorney, to eleven years and three months in federal prison for bank and mail fraud conspiracy. The court also ordered Jackson to serve five years of supervised release, to pay restitution of $166,795.89, to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $200,000, and to pay a special assessment of $100.

Jackson pleaded guilty to the charge on August 28, 2008, but fled prior to being sentenced. He was a fugitive from February 17, 2009, until March 30, 2012 ,when he was arrested in North Carolina by local law enforcement authorities for committing offenses similar to those committed in the Middle District of Florida.

According to court documents and sentencing testimony, the conspiracy took place from a time prior to April 2000, and continued through July 2, 2004. As part of the conspiracy, Jackson and his co-conspirator William Wayne Dykstra stole mail matter containing personal information as well as personal and business checks from the United States mail. They then produced and used counterfeit personal identification documents, including unlawfully obtained copies of other individuals valid Florida driver licenses. They opened numerous accounts and rented mail boxes at Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRAs) using fraudulent identification documents. The pair also opened bank accounts in the names of others using stolen identification information. They produced counterfeit personal and business checks, deposited those checks into the fraudulently opened bank accounts, then withdrew funds from the accounts using ATMs. They also produced counterfeit personal and business checks based on checks stolen from the U.S. Mails, and then negotiated and attempted to negotiate the checks at drive-through teller windows of various bank branches throughout the Middle District of Florida using stolen or fraudulent identity documents. Jackson and Dykstra fraudulently obtained and attempted to obtain more than $200,000 from the compromised banks during the conspiracy.

Dykstra pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy in August 2008. On February 17, 2009, he was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Donald L. Hansen.