A Marshfield, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing mail and using the stolen contents to commit check and credit card fraud.
Annette West, 46, of Marshfield, waived her right to grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate judge David P. Rush to a three-count information that charges her with stealing mail, depositing a fraudulent check and credit card fraud.
By pleading guilty today, West admitted that she stole mail (or caused mail to be stolen) from the mailboxes of 16 individual victims between Oct. 29 and Dec. 9, 2016. West stole the contents of that mail, which included checks, credit cards, Social Security cards, and personal identification cards belonging to the 16 victims. She then used the contents of the stolen mail to engage in fraudulent criminal acts.
West also admitted that she altered a stolen check and fraudulently deposited the check into her personal bank account. West then withdrew the funds from her account.
West also admitted that, aided and abetted by others, she fraudulently conducted financial transactions with stolen credit cards from three of the victims.
Under federal statutes, West is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
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