Greenbelt, Maryland - Andre Tyler, age 42, of Germantown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to unauthorized use of an access device and aggravated identity theft.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel S. Cortez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division.

According to his plea, Tyler was a newspaper deliveryman for WilCan Services, LLC, a delivery contractor for a Washington newspaper, whose route included addresses in the Damascus/Laytonsville area of Montgomery County, mainly off Route 108. From December 2010 until his arrest on May 19, 2011, Tyler occasionally took mail from mailboxes along his route, kept the credit cards and threw the other mail away. Tyler would attempt to activate the stolen credit cards and if successful, use the cards for his personal benefit until they stopped working. On at least one occasion, after the credit card company had suspended the stolen card Tyler called the company claiming to be the account holder and succeeded in having the card re-activated.

The total loss as a result of Tyler’s fraudulent use of the access devices was between $5,000 and $10,000.

Tyler faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for the unauthorized use of access devices and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for January 30, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam K. Ake, who is prosecuting the case.