Four Union County, men were arrested today for their roles in a conspiracy to steal mail and possess stolen mail, including credit cards and pandemic relief credit cards, fraudulently use the stolen credit cards without authorization, and defraud the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
According to federal officials, Jarid Brooks, 27, Justin Brooks, 21, Kyjuan Hutchins, 21, and Kyle Williams, 35, all of Vauxhall are charged by complaint with conspiracy.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From July 2019 to August, Williams allegedly stole credit cards from the U.S. mail in the course of his employment for the U.S. Postal Service, provided those credit cards to Jarid Brooks, Justin Brooks, and Hutchins, and the defendants thereafter fraudulently activated those credit cards and then used those credit cards to make and attempt to make purchases without the cardholders’ authorization, including buying gift cards and electronics.
The investigation to date has revealed that the victims have incurred over approximately $80,000 in intended and actual loss from fraudulent purchases made using their stolen credit cards.
The defendants also schemed to fraudulently use over $11,000 of funds pre-loaded onto Economic Impact Payment (EIP) cards issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury and sent in the U.S. mail pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that were stolen from the mail.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.