DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Acting United States Attorney Edward R. Ryan
Western District of North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009

For more information call
704.344.6222
Fax: 704.227.0264

CHARLOTTE COUPLE SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON TERMS IN CONNECTION WITH IDENTITY THEFT CONVICTIONS CHARLOTTE, NC—Anthony Mincey, age 37, and his wife, Schrell Mincey, age 37, both of Charlotte, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Charlotte on Wednesday, July 29 to five (5) years and two (2) years in federal prison, respectively. The pair were initially charged in U.S. District Court in May of 2008 with bank fraud and identity theft.

Today’s announcement is made by Acting U.S. Attorney Edward R. Ryan, Postal Inspector In Charge Keith Fixel, and Chief Rodney Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Both Anthony and Schrell Mincey are presently in local federal custody where they have remained since their arrests in September 2008. Both defendants will remain in local federal custody until the Federal Bureau of Prisons designates a facility at which they will serve their individual terms of imprisonment. The facility at which those terms of imprisonment will be served has not yet been determined.

Following a brief local investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with significant assistance from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Detectives, Anthony and Schrell Mincey were each charged in federal criminal complaints with bank fraud and identity theft.

Anthony Mincey ultimately entered a guilty plea to one count alleging bank fraud and two counts alleging aggravated identity theft. Schrell Mincey entered a guilty plea to one count of identity theft and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also uses all of the tools at its disposal, including the federal “aggravated identity theft” statute, to aggressively prosecute identity theft and document fraud crimes. As a result of the hard work of dedicated local and federal law enforcement officers and federal prosecutors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has successfully prosecuted numerous identity theft and document fraud cases. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that is imposed in addition to whatever sentence might otherwise be imposed.

What Victims of Identity Theft Should Do
! Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports
Equifax: 800.525.6285; www.equifax.com
Experian: 888.EXPERIAN; www.experian.com
TransUnion: 800.680.7289; www.transunion.com
! Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently
! Call someone in security/fraud department
! Follow up in writing with documents
! Get forms to dispute fraudulent transactions
! Once resolved, ask for a letter stating that company has closed disputed accounts and discharged fraudulent debts
! File a report with local police or other law enforcement agency and get a copy of it
! Use the ID Theft Affidavit, available online at the Federal Trade Commission(www.FTC.gov), when disputing new unauthorized accounts

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J.Gleason of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

US v. Anthony Mincey and Schrell Mincey
Anthony Mincey,
DOCKET NO. 3:08cr210
Schrell Mincey,
Charlotte, NC