Who is Watching Your Mailbox When You’re Not?
Latanya Jenkins just turned 50, and she has just learned that she is facing 37 years in prison. Prison life is hard, and my bet is that she would not make it to hobble out at 87. Oh yes, she also faces five years of supervised release; I doubt she’ll run too fast at 92 years-old. She did not commit her bank fraud, mail theft, and aggravated identity theft alone. She had a partner in crime, Demontae Sanders, who is 48. Sanders could possibly be in lockup until he is well in his 80s.
The government has at least given them an option, a plea agreement, to help mitigate the sentence, a $1.5 million fine, which is about twice the $750,000 they stole. Reports are that they have readily jumped at that option.
Stealing with Impunity
The fraud was pretty straight-forward for the pair of crooks, save for one wrinkle. Jenkins and Sanders stole mail (a federal offense) from mailboxes and then use the stolen identification to defraud area banks. These crimes were committed throughout the Portland, Oregon Metropolitan area. They were able to steal checks, credit cards, and other information that they used to mimic victims. They were then able to take the stolen credentials and open accounts at several local credit unions and banks.
The only wrinkle is that they were sophisticated in their scheme to the extent that they relied on extensive text messaging to communicate and opened several accounts strictly online using the information they had collected.
I want to step aside for a second and again repeat a plea to my friends out there: destroy (shred) your mail and credit card offers, don’t just dump things in the bin. If you are away on vacation or work, make sure your mail is promptly collected. A thief with a bit of ingenuity can construct an entire “personality.”
I say this because according to prosecutors, they were able to steal “bank statements, checks, tax returns, U.S. Passports, and other government-issued identification documents. They also stole and cashed an Economic Impact Payment check issued by the U.S. Treasury.”
The USPS is obviously tasked with delivering mail to your mailbox. YOU are responsible for safeguarding what is delivered. If you can’t be there to accept important mail, at least consider going paperless. Indeed, an “entire world” can be created from a passport or tax return.
Faced with Choices
Fraudsters love crimes where there is no oversite. Seriously, who is watching your mailbox? However, the good news for the victim is that if caught, fraudsters experience what happens when the government issues forth with their full wrath. It can get downright ugly. These are the consequences that scare the hell out of the unethical.
Consequences are the lost part of the equation. Whether it is a rather simple crime such as this, or a complex banking or manufacturing or financial scheme, the consequences to unethical choices are real, serious and always long-term.
Jenkins and Sanders could not think past their rationalizations. They might have rationalized that “people of modest means” or “wealthy banks” wouldn’t miss the money. They do. Or, it could be that they were smarter and slicker than their victims. They weren’t.
On December 14, 2021, the duo will go before a judge to face sentencing. Their boldness will disappear as did mine so very long ago. I left prison as a relatively young man however, this duo won’t. This is the price for a bad set of choices.
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