Collinsville man guilty in case involving mail fraud, ID theft

From Illinois Business Journal news services

EAST ST. LOUIS – Michael Alan Carver, 29, of Collinsville, entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in a scheme to obtain money and property through the use of unauthorized access devices and through the commission of identity theft, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton announced Tuesday.

Carver faces a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release after serving his sentence, and mandatory restitution. Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 2.

As part of the plea, Carver admitted assisting another person in stealing mail out of mailboxes. The stolen mail contained means of identification of other persons that included names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

As part of the conspiracy, a conspirator used that information to apply for and obtain credit cards of other persons without authorization.

The credit cards were then used to make purchases. Some of the fraudulently obtained items were then shipped or mailed to Carver’s residence. Carver obtained a percentage of the value of the unauthorized credit cards.

No information was released by Wigginton’s office on other parties who may be involved in the case.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the Collinsville Police Department, the Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations, and the United States Secret Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.