Three Sacramento Residents Charged in Scheme to Steal Mail Using Fraudulent Vacation Holds and Address Changes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Thursday, June 16, 2017, a grand jury brought an eight-count indictment against Sacramento residents Latomba Bishop, 32; Joshua Yadon, 33, and Norman Thompson, 36, charging them with conspiracy to obtain mail by fraud, access device fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Thompson, Bishop, and Yadon used stolen personal identifying information to fraudulently obtain credit cards, checks, and merchandise. To avoid detection, the conspirators would often request that the items be mailed to the victims’ real addresses but then filed false vacation holds and change of address forms with the United States Postal Service in order to divert the items into the conspirators’ possession.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Davis Police Department, Sacramento County Probation, and the Woodland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy J. Kelley is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Thompson and Yadon face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of the mail fraud, Bishop faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and if convicted of the aggravated identity theft, she faces a mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to any other sentence. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.