Wichita Man Sentenced For Turning Stolen Mail Into False Identities

WICHITA, KAN. - A Wichita man was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in federal prison for turning stolen mail into 14 false identities, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Jeremy Peterson, 43, Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce false identification documents. In his plea, he admitted that other conspirators provided him with stolen mail he used to produce counterfeit documents including driver’s licenses and state identification cards. He produced documents for 14 stolen identities that conspirators used to buy cars. Local auto dealers suffered an actual loss of more than $218,000 as a result.

Peterson was one of 13 defendants charged last year in USA v Below, an indictment alleging they took part in a $3.5 million fraud scheme.

Beall commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department, the Wichita Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.