Mail thief sentenced in scheme that targeted Stockton dealership, other California cities
SACRAMENTO — An East Bay woman has been sentenced to prison for taking part in a mail theft and bank fraud scheme throughout Northern California, including using a stolen identity to purchase a new car from a Stockton dealership, according to federal authorities.
Desiree Brianna Bello, who also goes by Desiree Sanchez, 28, of Contra Costa County, was sentenced Monday to four years and nine months in prison for bank fraud and possession of stolen U.S. mail, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. She pleaded guilty in August.
According to court documents, between April and August 2020, Bello and co-defendant Richard Beldon Waters III, perpetrated a mail theft and bank fraud scheme throughout Northern California. Waters pleaded guilty in September. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
The scheme involved stealing U.S. mail from residential mailboxes and harvesting bankcards, identification documents, financial information, checks, and other information to obtain money and property from banks and businesses, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California said.
On several occasions, Bello used ID documents and other information from mail theft victims to purchase and lease vehicles from car dealerships. In one case, on June 25, 2020, she leased a new Hyundai Genesis G80 from a Stockton Hyundai dealership using a stolen ID. She made an initial $7,000 payment with a check in the fraud victim’s name, and submitted a lease application using the victim’s name, date of birth, California Driver’s License number, and Social Security number. Bello was able to drive the new G80, valued at approximately $55,490, off the lot.
On two other occasions in May 2020, Bello was arrested in Northern with hundreds of pieces of stolen mail; in one case, she was caught in El Dorado Hills with five large trash bags of mail that she and her co-conspirators had just stolen minutes earlier from a residential complex, the court said.
The case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Stockton Police Department, the Folsom Police Department, the Concord Police Department, the Pittsburg Police Department, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol.
Protecting your mail
Use the letter slots inside your Post Office for your mail, or hand it to a letter carrier.
Pick up your mail promptly after delivery. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight. If you’re expecting checks, credit cards or other negotiable items, ask a trusted friend or neighbor to pick up your mail.
If you don’t receive a check or other valuable mail you’re expecting, contact the issuing agency immediately.
If you change your address, immediately notify your Post Office and anyone with whom you do business via the mail.
Don’t send cash in the mail.
Tell your Post Office when you’ll be out of town so they can hold your mail until you return.
Report all suspected mail theft to a postal inspector.
Consider starting a Neighborhood Watch program. By exchanging work and vacation schedules with trusted friends and neighbors, you can watch each other’s mailboxes (as well as homes).
Consult with your postmaster for the most up-to-date regulations on mailboxes, including the availability of locked centralized or curbside mailboxes.
If you see a mail thief at work, or if you believe your mail was stolen, call police immediately, then call postal inspectors at (877) 876-2455 (press 3).
— U.S. Postal Inspection Service
This article originally appeared on The Record: Mail fraud: Woman gets nearly 5 years in prison for massive scam
