ATLANTA — Four metro Atlanta women are facing federal charges in what prosecutors describe as a complex scheme involving stolen mail, bank fraud, and money laundering.
The charges include bank fraud, money laundering, forgery, and theft of U.S. mail.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney in Atlanta Nathan Kitchens called it “an audacious scheme.”
Prosecutors say from the early days of the pandemic through September of last year, convicted felon Francina Sutton bought stolen mail from two mail carriers in Atlanta and Marietta.
“Gift cards, credit cards, personal checks; but in one case there was a US Treasury check of roughly $4.9 million,” Kitchens said.
Authorities say Sutton used a disguise and worked with an Alpharetta bank manager, Tonya Bailey, to deposit and launder the funds.
Kitchens said the operation showed “a high degree of sophistication.”
“What is alleged is that the lead defendant Francina Sutton, obtained a stolen treasury check worth $4.9 million, and worked with a bank insider Tonya Bailey, to get that check deposited and launder those funds,” Kitchens said.
Prosecutors say Sutton created a business to match the name on the Treasury check and made withdrawals using stolen identification.
“It took a high degree of sophistication to do that,” Kitchens said.
Kitchens said the amount involved was significant.
“The sheer quantity of the theft was astonishing; $4.9 million,” he said.
Authorities say the U.S. Secret Service was able to recover most of the money.
“The U.S. Secret Service was able to seize almost the entirety of that $4.9 million amount,” Kitchens said.
The investigation involved inspectors general and agents from the U.S. Postal Service, Treasury Department, Secret Service, and the IRS.
All four women have pleaded not guilty.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Water’s contributed to this story.