CONCORD - Armelle Chester, 26, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced in federal court on Friday to serve to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.  

          According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2018, in Nashua, New Hampshire, Chester conspired with co-defendants Everton Ellis and Jeffrey Martin (both of whom have entered guilty pleas) to use stolen identities to defraud the Sprint Corporation.  Members of the conspiracy contacted Sprint to establish new accounts in the stolen names, causing Sprint to ship thousands of dollars’ worth of iPads and iPhones on credit.  The defendants then intercepting the goods in New Hampshire.  As part of the scheme, the defendants obtained and possessed without authority the names and other personal identifiers of nearly 200 residents or former residents of New Hampshire. 

          Chester previously pleaded guilty on July 16, 2018.  In addition to the prison sentenced, Chester was ordered to pay $123,939.09 in restitution.

          “Identity theft is a crime that causes real financial damage to its victims,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.   “I am grateful to the law enforcement officers whose hard work stopped this scheme and prevented further losses.”

          “The United States Secret Service is committed to investigating financial crimes including the unauthorized use of personally identifiable information (PII) for financial gain,” said Timothy Benitez, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Manchester Resident Office.  “The success of this investigation is a result of the cooperation between federal and local law enforcement partners.”

          “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to preserving the integrity of the U.S. Mail.  We will continue to conduct investigations that seek prosecution of those who fraudulently use the U.S. Mail by working with our federal and local law enforcement partners.”  U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Inspector in Charge, Joseph W. Cronin of the Boston Division.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Nashua Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.

 

           

 

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             CONCORD - Everton Ellis, 41, of Yonkers, New York, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

             According to court documents and statements made in court, in December 2017 and January 2018, in Nashua, New Hampshire, defendant Ellis conspired with others to steal identification information of other persons and use those identities to establish new Sprint accounts.  They then caused Sprint to ship thousands of dollars’ worth of iPads and iPhones on credit.  As part of the scheme, Ellis and his co-conspirators: (1) obtained large numbers of Vanilla Visa debit cards; (2) used the debit cards to establish Sprint accounts in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen; (3) pretending to be the victims whose identities they had stolen, purchased large quantities of iPhones and iPads on credit; (4) caused Sprint to ship the purchased iPhones and iPads to residences in New Hampshire; (5) soon after the goods were delivered, traveled to the New Hampshire addresses where the goods were shipped, trespassed on the properties, and took the packages into their possession; (6) rented a vehicle and a motel room in Nashua for use in the scheme; and (7) manufactured and possessed false photo ID cards in the names of New Hampshire residents.

             Ellis is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2018.

            “The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to coordinate closely with our law enforcement colleagues to thwart fraud schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “We particularly focus on cases where individuals’ identities are stolen or compromised.  I commend the law enforcement officers whose work disrupted this significant fraud scheme.”

              “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to preserving the integrity of the U.S. Mail.  We will continue to conduct investigations that seek prosecution of those who fraudulently use the U.S. Mail by working with our federal and local law enforcement partners.”  Raymond Moss, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division

             This matter was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Nashua Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.

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