Fort Pierce Men Plead Guilty To Bank Fraud And Mail Theft

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Aquarius Jones (24, Fort Pierce) and Johnathan Bryant (26, Fort Pierce) have pleaded guilty for their roles in a mail theft scheme. Jones pleaded guilty to bank fraud and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. Bryant pleaded guilty to mail theft and faces up to five years in federal prison. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.

According to court documents, on July 22, 2022, Jones and Bryant assembled mail “fishing” devices using shoelaces, mouthwash bottles, and mouse glue traps. They lowered the fishing devices into the mail slot of a United States Postal Service collection box and stole mail from inside the box. Additionally, between January and July 2022, Jones obtained checks which had been stolen from mailboxes, altered the names of the recipients on the stolen checks, and fraudulently deposited those checks into various bank accounts belonging to individuals other than the intended check recipients.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Winter Park Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu.