TAMPA, Fla. - Three people, including a Tampa woman, have been charged in a federal indictment accusing them of stealing U.S. Treasury checks and using counterfeit driver's licenses to access the money, according to the State Attorney's Office.
Federal check theft indictment
What we know:
Stanley Richardson Joseph, 28, and Kallie Nicole Valerie Halliday, 26, both of Brooklyn, New York, and Kristy Marie Bochecchio, 47, of Tampa, face charges of conspiracy, theft of government money or property and aggravated identity theft.
If convicted on all counts, each member of the trio faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Treasury check scheme
The backstory:
According to the indictment, Joseph, Halliday and Bochecchio intercepted U.S. Treasury checks that had been mailed to their intended recipients.
After obtaining the checks, the trio created counterfeit driver's licenses using the names and identities of the people to whom the checks belonged, prosecutors said.
They are accused of using the counterfeit licenses to open accounts at financial institutions and deposit the stolen checks.
The indictment also seeks forfeiture of proceeds that can be traced to the alleged offenses.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division, with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations in New York.
Total financial loss
What we don't know:
Federal officials have not disclosed the total dollar amount of the stolen checks or how many total victims were targeted in the scheme.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a federal indictment and statements provided by the State Attorney's Office.