Federal grand jury indicts Republic man, Ava woman on bank fraud charges

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Republic, Mo., man and an Ava, Mo., woman were indicted by a federal grand jury today for their roles in a conspiracy to cash checks that were stolen from mailboxes.

D.J. Gideon, 25, of Republic, and Katelyn Elizabeth Emrick, 21, of Ava, were charged in a 47-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.

Today’s indictment alleges that Gideon and Emrick participated in a bank fraud conspiracy from June 18 to Nov. 6, 2015. According to the indictment, conspirators obtained (or attempted to obtain) approximately $40,535 from victims’ bank accounts by stealing checks from business and residential mailboxes and unlawfully using their victims’ personal identification information to cash or deposit the stolen checks, or use them to make purchases. Some of the stolen checks were blank checks that were mailed to bank account holders, the indictment says, and some of the checks were written to other individuals or organizations. Gideon and Emrick allegedly altered the payee and the amounts payable on the checks and forged the signatures of their victims.

According to the indictment, checks were stolen from the mailboxes of the Springfield Muscular Dystrophy Association, two businesses in Greene and Wright County, and a number of individuals.

 In addition to the conspiracy, the indictment charges Gideon and Emrick together in seven counts of bank fraud. Gideon is charged in five additional counts of bank fraud and Emrick is charged in three additional counts of bank fraud.

 Gideon and Emrick are also charged together in seven counts of mail theft. Gideon is also charged with four additional counts of mail theft and Emrick is also charged with three additional counts of mail theft.

Gideon and Emrick are also charged together in seven counts of making, possessing or cashing forged checks. Gideon is also charged with four additional counts of making, possessing or cashing forged checks and Emrick is also charged with three additional counts of making, possessing or cashing forged checks.

Gideon and Emrick are also charged together in one count of aggravated identity theft. Gideon and Emrick are each charged with an additional count of aggravated identity theft.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Missouri State Highway Patrol; the police departments of Aurora, Marshfield, Seymour, Springfield and West Plains, Mo., Baxter Springs, Kan., and Quapaw,Okla.; and the sheriff’s departments of Christian, Greene, Howell and Stone County in Missouri, Cherokee County, Kan., and Ottawa County, Okla.