Warren County Man Used Stolen Mail, Multiple Schemes to Commit Fraud

ST. LOUIS – Four people from Warren County, Missouri were indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday and accused of using stolen mail and a series of schemes to commit fraud.

Elijah Briggs, 41, of Warren County, was indicted on three counts of bank fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count each of possession of stolen mail and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices. Holly Naylor, 39, Jessica Kirkpatrick, 42, and Reuben Kim, 34, were each indicted on two counts of bank fraud. All but Kirkpatrick are in custody.

From Jan. 31, 2019 through at least 2021, Briggs obtained the personal information, including checking account information, of multiple victims by stealing outgoing or delivered mail from their mailboxes, the indictment says.

He then used a series of schemes to steal money, the indictment says. Briggs altered stolen checks to make them payable to himself or others, opened bank accounts and credit accounts with the stolen information and accessed victims’ accounts online to steal money and change their contact information, the indictment says.

Brigs also attempted to cash a legitimate payroll check to himself multiple times and used information on the check to create fake checks payable to and cashed by Naylor and Kim, the indictment says.

Finally, Briggs created fraudulent and counterfeit checks using stolen banking information that Naylor, Kim and Kirkpatrick then cashed, the indictment says. 

"This investigation exposed a broad scope of fraudulent activities that showed a brazen disregard for the victims,” said Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Katherine Greer. “These are not petty crimes that can be easily recovered from, but instead could result in a lifetime of negative financial and emotional turmoil for the victims. HSI and our law enforcement partners will continue our work to combat financial crimes and to dismantle any organization that support it.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the St. Charles Police Department, the St. Peters Police Department, and the Wentzville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke prosecuted the case.