An Elizabeth man admitted today to conspiring to commit bank fraud by soliciting U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees to steal check books from the mail and depositing fraudulent checks, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Federal officials said Brian Previlon, 28, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
According to federal authorities, beginning in summer 2019 through Oct. 22, 2019, Previlon conspired to fraudulently obtain money from victim financial institutions by, among other things, depositing checks stolen from the mail into accounts at victim financial institutions and withdrawing funds from those accounts before the victim financial institutions identified the fraudulent checks and blocked further withdrawals.
Previlon and his co-conspirators arranged for USPS employees to steal blank check books from the mail in exchange for cash payments. USPS employees provided the checks to Previlon and his co-conspirators, who fraudulently forged the signatures of the accountholders and negotiated the checks by making them payable to individuals.
Previlon and his co-conspirators obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $38,364 from victim financial institutions.
The conspiracy charge to which Previlon pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3, 2021.