Man accused of Tri-Cities mail theft sentenced to 2+ years in federal prison

Annette Cary
·2 min read
2

An investigation of mail theft in the Tri-Cities has ended with a man sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison.

Levi William Dennis also was sentenced by U.S. Judge Stanley Bastian to pay $2,700 in restitution to HAPO Credit Union.

He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service had received reports of mail thefts in 2022 and learned of a fraud report taken by Kennewick police in February from a grandmother who had the power of attorney for her grandson when he was incarcerated in late 2022.

She had seen checks for $315 and $400 deposited in her grandson’s HAPO account in Kennewick and then $715 withdrawn.

The Richland owner of the $400 check noticed the transaction and reported it to HAPO and police.

He said the signature on the check did not match his own. He also said that his mailbox had been opened on January 2023, but he did not know then if anything was missing.

In total, Dennis withdrew $2,700 from the HAPO account by using the Washington driver’s license of the grandson of the woman who reported the suspicious activity and by forging her grandson’s signature, according to federal court documents.

Levi Dennis
Levi Dennis

Investigators obtained video at HAPO that showed Dennis in the credit union’s drive thru passing checks and identification at the time of the fraudulent transaction, according to documents in U.S. Eastern Washington District Court.

In March 2023, the Chevrolet Tahoe Dennis was driving in the HAPO video was involved in a hit-and-run collision, according to court documents.

Richland police searched the Tahoe and found mail and checks with addresses throughout the Tri-Cities, according to court documents. They also found a HAPO receipt for the grandson of the woman who had reported suspicious activity and her grandson’s driver’s license.

Prosecutors with the Eastern Washington District U.S. Attorney’s Office asked for a sentence of two year and four months in prison for Dennis, plus restitution.

Dennis’s attorney, Juliana Van Wingerden, said a prison sentence of two years plus one day and the restitution would be fair.

She said in court documents that Dennis was a lifelong resident of Central Washington and was in the throes of fentanyl addiction when he committed the crimes.

The judge sentenced Dennis to three years probation once he finishes his prison term.