The U.S. Attorney's office has unsealed a federal indictment that accuses 13 people of using stolen identities to spend or access more than $3.5 million of other people’s money and credit.
Twelve of the 13 people accused in the indictment are from Kansas. Seven of them are from Wichita.
The indictment goes back to 2013 and spells out the details of the alleged acts: stealing mail from blue mail collection boxes, from residents and even from post office mailrooms in the Wichita area.
According to the indictment, checks that the individuals found in the mail were tampered with and then drawn on businesses and financial institutions.
The individuals are also accused of creating new checks with the account information, stealing identities and fraudulently obtaining credit cards. The charge outlines several major purchases, including a Jaguar and a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Other charges include drug trafficking and firearms violations.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department, the Wichita Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
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Aileen LeBlanc is news director at KMUW. Follow her on Twitter @Aileen_LeBlanc.
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