St. Louis Area Man Sentenced on Fraud Charges

St. Louis, MO – Stacey Wilson was sentenced to 81 months in prison on charges involving wire and bank fraud. 

According to court documents, on or about November 1, 2013, and continuing to on or about December 1, 2015, Stacey Wilson and his accomplice recruited approximately 53 individuals to open checking accounts at U.S. Bank with nominal amounts of money, or provide access to their existing checking accounts.  The recruited individuals provided their debit cards and checks issued on the accounts.  In addition to checks and debit cards received from the recruited individuals, they obtained checks and debit cards from the victims of motor vehicle break-ins.  Wilson and his accomplice drafted the checks in amounts ranging from $195.00 to $2,300.00 before depositing them into different fraudulently issued accounts through electronic wire transmissions of the checks’ images or through direct deposits.  As soon as the funds were deposited, Wilson and others obtained funds from the financial institutions through automated teller machine transactions, counter withdrawals or debit card purchases.  Unbeknownst to the financial institutions which accepted the fraudulently obtained checks for deposit, the accounts upon which the checks had been drawn were artificially inflated or had been closed as being fraudulent.  As a result of the scheme, Wilson and others obtained, and attempted to obtain, more than $79,000.00 through more than 270 fraudulent transactions. 

Wilson, of St. Louis City, pled guilty March 16, 2016, to felony counts of aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and access device fraud. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Ronnie L. White. In addition to the sentence of 81 months imprisonment, Wilson was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $44,325.66.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant United States Attorney Tracy Berry handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.