Two Chicago men arrested for check thefts from Brown County businesses, may be linked to Greenville thefts

Rebecca Loroff, Appleton Post-Crescent
·2 min read

This story has been updated.

GREENVILLE - A series of mail theft complaints in Greenville led to the arrest of two Chicago men suspected of stealing dozens of checks from Brown County, the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

Businesses in a Greenville industrial park started reporting the thefts in December 2022. More than $500,000 in checks left in mailboxes overnight on weekends were reported missing. The sheriff's office said the checks were then altered, duplicated and deposited through mobile deposits or ATMs into accounts throughout the United States.

But the thefts didn't just take place in Greenville, the sheriff's office said. Other law enforcement agencies in northeast Wisconsin were investigating similar incidents.

After authorities found "an associated vehicle" on Interstate 43, Darrell J. Edwards and Dionta Bratcher, both 28-year-old Chicago men, were stopped Feb. 5 in Manitowoc County. The sheriff's office said a search of their car uncovered more than 61 stolen checks worth more than $121,000, mostly stolen from Brown County-area businesses.

Bratcher and Edwards were arrested and held at the Manitowoc County Jail. The two men face multiple felony and misdemeanor charges from the Green Bay Police Department and the Brown County Sheriff's Office.

While Outagamie County has not yet filed charges relating to the thefts from Greenville, "expect (them) to come in the following weeks or months," said Lt. Nathan Borman from the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office.

When it comes to financial crimes, Borman said, "it's a great deal of work" to get enough evidence together to issue a warrant.

Authorities also believe Edwards and Bratcher may be part of a larger pattern of mail thefts throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. Additional suspects are at large and under investigation, the sheriff's office said.

"None of us are done with this yet," Borman said.

So far, this investigation has focused on businesses in northeast Wisconsin. Borman said part of the reason mail theft might occur at business mailboxes is because it can take longer for people to notice business mail going missing.

Still, the sheriff's office urged both businesses and residents to take checks to the post office and USPS drop-off mailboxes, sign up for informed delivery and install lockable mailboxes and security cameras in light of ongoing mail theft incidents.

More news:

Rebecca Loroff is a breaking and trending news reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her at rloroff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Chicago men arrested in Manitowoc County for Brown County check thefts