Rochester man pleads guilty to stealing checks from the mail

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Shydequan C. Wynn, 40, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to financial institution fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford, who is handling the case, stated between October 2019, and March 2022, Wynn executed a scheme, with others, to defraud financial institutions. Wynn stole checks included in mail from unattended mailboxes. He then forged or altered the stolen checks, often changing the amounts and making them payable to himself or another co-conspirator. He or a co-conspirator then cashed the fraudulent checks for financial gain. The scheme involved approximately 112 victims and stolen and altered checks totaling approximately $179,447. Of this amount, approximately $74,911.50 involved checks that were successfully altered and negotiated.  

The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward, Boston Division, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter, and the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Wood.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 12, 2024, before Judge Siragusa.