Missouri Woman Fourth Person Sentenced for Nationwide Fraud Scheme

MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Heather Bishop, 31, Lee’s Summit, Missouri was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 30 months in federal prison for conspiring with Crystal Austin, Shelly Scott, Jason Edge, and others to commit wire fraud throughout the country.  Bishop was ordered to pay restitution to Walmart, Inc., in an amount to be determined after a hearing on January 11, 2021.

Between February 2017 and March 2018, Bishop, Austin, Scott, Edge and others conspired to defraud Walmart, Inc. through use of stolen personal checks, identity fraud, and methods to bypass electronic check authorization measures, resulting in a loss of over $860,000 to Walmart.  The group used stolen identification cards of real people to perpetuate this fraud in 18 states, using more than 14 different stolen checking accounts.  Bishop and other co-conspirators would present a stolen check and false identification at the time of payment, and when the check was declined, the person presenting the check would pretend to call the check authorization company, when in fact, they would call a co-conspirator.  The co-conspirator would tell the clerk to accept the check, and the transaction would be complete. 

Scott and Edge were arrested by Monona Police on February 25, 2018, after Walmart employees became suspicious of their behavior. They were sentenced to 48 months in federal prison in November 2018 after pleading guilty for their roles in this fraud scheme.

Heather Bishop and conspirators Crystal Austin and Jennifer Austin were charged in this conspiracy and arrested in December 2019.  Crystal Austin pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and was sentenced to 65 months in prison in September 2020. Jennifer Austin has also agreed to plead guilty to the conspiracy and is scheduled for a guilty plea and sentencing hearing on December 15, 2020.

In sentencing Bishop, Judge Conley noted that this conspiracy involved not only Walmart as a victim, but also those whose identities and bank accounts were used in the fraud.  He noted that in Bishop’s case, her involvement seemed to be based on opportunity, family dysfunction, and anti-social personality and decision making.  In choosing a sentence of 30 months, Judge Conley also recognized that Bishop was less culpable than the co-conspirators previously sentenced in this case.