Six South Bay Residents Indicted In Alleged Stolen Mail And Fraud Scheme

Defendants allegedly used real and counterfeit mailbox keys to gain access to identification documents for fraudulent use.

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury in San Francisco has returned an indictment charging six individuals with numerous crimes associated with a long-running conspiracy to steal mail and commit fraud in connection with identification documents, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and United States Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Rafael Nuñez.  The indictment was filed on November 17, 2020, and unsealed today. 

The six defendants are Mark Guardado, Jr., 38, of San Jose; Ashley Overton, 34, of Palo Alto; Juan Dagio, 40, of San Jose; Brian Clapp, 37, of San Jose; Andrew Perez, 30, of San Jose; and Jaime Valencia-Arias, 23, of San Jose.  According to the 18-count indictment, beginning no later than January of 2018, and continuing through August of 2019, the defendants conspired to steal mail and commit fraud in connection with hundreds of stolen or fraudulent identification documents.  Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal United States mail by using actual or counterfeit postal keys to gain access to cluster mailboxes in apartment buildings.  The defendant allegedly raided mailboxes throughout the South Bay, including in Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and San Jose.  The indictment describes text messages exchanged between the defendants regarding the use of real or counterfeit postal keys—some of which Guardado is alleged to have discussed making himself—to go out on “missions,” meaning outings in which they stole mail in bulk from apartment buildings.  Defendants then obtained personal identifying information, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth, from the stolen mail and other sources and used that information to create counterfeit California state driver’s licenses in the names of the victims of the stolen mail.  The counterfeit licenses had photographs depicting the defendants.  Using the counterfeit driver’s licenses, defendants activated and used stolen or fraudulent credit cards, negotiated checks, and used other stolen or fraudulently obtained access devices to obtain money and other things of value, including hotel rooms and cash advances at a casino.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The indictment charges the defendants with the crimes and maximum statutory sentences as follows:

Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. 

All the defendants are in either federal or state custody except Perez, who remains at large.  Guardado and Clapp made their initial federal court appearances this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.  Judge Beeler ordered that Guardado be detained pending a bail study and a further hearing for December 14, 2020.   Clapp was released on a $25,000 bond.  Valencia-Arias will make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen on Thursday, December 10, 2020.  The defendants next scheduled appearance is at 10:30 a.m. on January 12, 2021, for a status hearing before the before the Honorable Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Judge.      

The prosecution is being handled by the Special Prosecutions Section of the United States Attorney’s Office.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service.