Anchorage Woman Charged With 20 Counts of Bank Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft

Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Anchorage woman has been charged with 20 counts of Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft for falsely altering stolen checks and cashing them at banks around Anchorage.

Denae Sullivan, 32, of Anchorage, is charged in a 20-count indictment with a scheme to defraud banks using checks stolen from the mail and from vehicle break-ins.  She is further charged, as part of the scheme, with stealing the identities of individuals in Anchorage and Illinois. The investigation is one of several targeted by the United States Postal Inspection Service to address a recent increase in mail theft rings in the Anchorage area.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward, who presented the case to the grand jury, Sullivan cashed checks at banks around Anchorage that had been stolen from victims’ mailboxes in Anchorage.  She then altered the payee to match a driver’s license she obtained from a victim, and used that stolen identification to negotiate the stolen checks.  The stolen checks included payments for rent, charitable donations to a church, and blank checks stolen during vehicle break-ins.  Sullivan victimized more than 10 individuals and organizations for a total loss of more than $20,000.

The law provides for a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million or both.  Under federal sentencing statutes, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.                                 

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Anchorage Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictments in the case.