Two Men Plead Guilty To Identity And Mail Theft In Sacramento, San Joaquin, And Stanislaus Counties

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Derek Hillgert, 29, of Carmichael, and Jeffrey Wilhite, 31, of Linden, pleaded guilty today to committing access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of stolen mail, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Hillgert and Wilhite worked together to steal United States Mail and conduct transactions with stolen identities. On the day of their arrests, they possessed over 200 pieces of stolen mail addressed to over 100 victims. With Wilhite’s assistance, Hillgert used a stolen identity to purchase a van at a dealership in Modesto. Hillgert presented a fraudulent driver’s license in the other person’s name but with Hillgert’s photograph, and he obtained a loan in the other person’s name for over $39,000. Wilhite opened a Target debit card account using a second stolen identity, and the defendants made more than $3,000 in purchases with it.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Tracy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Miriam R. Hinman is prosecuting the case.

Hillgert and Wilhite are scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on January 14, 2019. Both defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of stolen mail. Each count of access device fraud carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. For the aggravated identity theft, each defendant faces a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison. 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.