Kavon Dupree Jackson, age 26, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty to a bank fraud conspiracy.
The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Ajay Lall of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division (“USPIS”); and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department (“PGPD”).
According to his guilty plea, Jackson and a co-conspirator illegally possessed a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) “arrow key,” which they used to open USPS postal boxes and steal mail.
They then took the mail matter back to their residence and culled out any checks from the stolen mail. Jackson and the co-conspirator then changed the names of the payees on the checks to their names or to the names other conspirators recruited to assist with the scheme.
Jackson and his co-conspirators would then cash the checks and immediately dissipate the funds for their own gain.
Jackson’s co-conspirator used various social media accounts to advertise for persons with bank accounts at various financial institutions and offered to pay them to use their accounts to wash the stolen, counterfeited checks.
In return, these “money mules” would receive a small cut of the proceeds and Jackson and his co-conspirators would retain the rest. Jackson also sometimes deposited stolen checks into his own account.
For example, on November 9, 2021, Jackson deposited check number 1354, drawn from Victim 1’s account, into Jackson’s own bank account at another bank. Jackson altered the payee name on the check to that of his own. Additionally, Jackson increased the amount of the check from $90 to $8,800.
On March 16, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Jackson’s residence. Law enforcement recovered a USPS arrow key, more than 350 stolen checks, an assault rifle, and numerous rounds of ammunition.
Law enforcement conducted another search warrant at Jackson’s residence on November 4, 2022, and recovered more stolen checks, mail matter, and a pistol. Jackson agrees that both firearms were purchased with proceeds from the scheme and are subject to forfeiture.
The scheme resulted in more than $250,000 in losses, representing the amounts of stolen checks that were deposited into the financial institutions associated with Jackson or his co-conspirators.
More than 50 victims had checks stolen from them which were later deposited into co-conspirators’ accounts. As a result, some of the victims experienced substantial financial hardship.
Jackson faces a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for the bank fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby has scheduled sentencing for June 18, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Jason D. Medinger, who is prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
