Stolen I.D., Personal Information Lifted From Victims' Mailboxes In Bank Fraud Case

MACON - A Warner Robins man, believed to be the ringleader in a scheme to steal mail to obtain people’s identifying information and use it to make and cash fraudulent checks, has pleaded guilty for his crime, said U.S. Attorney Charles “Charlie” Peeler. Mozell Wright, Jr., 36, of Warner Robins entered a guilty plea for Bank Fraud on April 9, 2019 before The Honorable Tilman E. Self in U.S. District Court in Macon. This charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine and five years of supervised release. Mr. Wright is set to be sentenced on June 4, 2019.

According to facts in the signed plea agreement, Mr. Wright, with the assistance of seven other co-defendants, obtained the personal information of a victim and beginning on March 30, 2017 attempted to deposit or cash approximately $15,795.85 worth of fraudulent checks at various banks in Houston County, Georgia from the victim’s bank account until May 17, 2017, the day before Mr. Wright was taken into custody. During this time, Mr. Wright lived in the same neighborhood as the victim in Houston County. Mr. Wright used stolen mail sent to the victim from Bank of America to produce fraudulent checks for his co-defendants to cash. Mr. Wright was arrested on May 18, and following a search of his home, investigators found hundreds of pieces of mail that included identifying information of 23 separate victims, check stock and partially completed personal checks with illegally obtained personal information, financial document printing instructions and gauges for printing documents to scale, a computer with electronic versions of these phony checks and several hand-written notes with bank account and routing numbers. Mr. Wright admitted his guilt following his arrest by the Warner Robins Police Department.

“Our office is committed to combating personal identity theft in the Middle District, and there is no doubt that this defendant intended to scam more citizens using their private information,” said Charles “Charlie” Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “I commend the investigators with the U.S. Postal Service and the Warner Robins Police Department for stopping this fraud.”

Two of Mr. Wright’s co-defendants – Bradley Rumph, Jr. 26, of Warner Robins, and Tara Blanks, 46, of Warner Robins – have also entered guilty pleas on bank fraud charges and are also set for sentencing on June 4, 2019. Charges against the five remaining co-defendants are still pending.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Warner Robins Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker is prosecuting the case for the Government.

Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.