Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and ID Theft Scheme

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond woman pleaded guilty today to charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft stemming from her scheme to steal personal checks from residential mailboxes in Richmond.

According to court documents, Katina Everett, 45, executed a mail theft and bank fraud scheme over approximately a three-month period in late 2018 and early 2019. During that time period, Everett traveled throughout Richmond’s Fan neighborhood, stealing mail from residents’ mailboxes.  Everett was looking for personal checks, which she would then alter to reflect her name, or that of an individual acting at Everett’s direction as the payee, as well as an often significantly higher payment amount. Prior to this federal conviction, Everett had already been convicted of more than 20 other felonies, including more than a dozen larceny and fraud convictions. 

Everett pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, and faces a mandatory sentence of two years on the aggravated identity theft conviction, and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on the bank fraud conviction, when sentenced on October 21. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:19-cr-81.