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Department of Justice United States Attorney Candace G. Hill Contact: Dawn Masden |
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October 14, 2009
LOCAL MAN AND WOMEN INDICTED FOR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT BANK FRAUD, THEFT OF MAIL, AND AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT
– Group used personal identifiers from mail stolen from UPS to cash counterfeit checks and obtain over $100,000
LOUISVILLE, KY - A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on October 5, 2009, against Reginald Green, age 40; Joanna Catherine Stivers, age 23; Keesha Annette Harrison, age 31; Cecilia Joelene Hatchett, age 40; and Rhonda Lynn Willis, age 31, all of Louisville, Kentucky, in Jefferson County, on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Green and Harrison were also charged with theft of mail, and Green, Stivers, Hatchett, and Willis were charged with aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced today.
The Indictment alleges that between May of 2006 and March of 2007, Green, Stivers, Harrison, Hatchett, and Willis conspired to execute a scheme to defraud federally-insured financial institutions by stealing checks containing commercial account numbers, which were used to make counterfeit checks. Members of the group uttered the counterfeit checks in Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and New Jersey, in exchange for over $165,000 in U.S. currency. At times, members of the group used other identities and supporting false identification documents when uttering the checks.
In the event of a conviction, the maximum potential penalties for Green are 41 years’ imprisonment, a $2 million fine, and supervised release for a period of 11 years; for Hatchett are 36 years’ imprisonment, a $1.75 million fine, and supervised release for a period of 8 years; for Harrison are 35 years’ imprisonment, a $1.25 million fine, and supervised release for a period of 8 years; for Willis are 32 years’ imprisonment, a $1.25 million fine, and supervised release for a period of 6 years; and for Stivers are 30 years’ imprisonment, a $1 million fine, and supervised release for a period fo 5 years.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann Claire Phillips, and it was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the University of Louisville Police Department.
All of the defendants are scheduled for trial on November 25, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. in Louisville, Kentucky, before Judge Charles R. Simpson, III.
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The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation
only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless
proven guilty.
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