Five Houston residents indicted in connection to $24 million stolen check scheme

Five Houston residents have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with a scheme that allegedly involved stealing checks from the U.S. mail, according to the indictment.

Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, 28, Malcolm Tiree Joubert, 35, and Alyssa Nadine Bryant, 27, were expected to make their initial appearances Aug. 25 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Y. Ho, according to the release. Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick, 29, made her initial appearance Aug. 24. A fifth defendant, Drakkor Jamar Alexander, 34, has been charged but was not in custody as of the release.

According to the indictment, Vaughn allegedly recruited U.S. Postal Service mail carriers to steal checks from the mail along their delivery routes. Vaughn and others allegedly purchased the stolen checks from postal employees and then resold them to buyers through Telegram, a cloud-based, cross-platform social media and instant messaging service. The stolen checks were then shipped to buyers, the indictment states.

Kilpatrick, Joubert and Alexander worked as USPS mail carriers when Vaughn allegedly recruited them to steal mail, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege the scheme involved approximately $24 million in stolen checks, according to the release.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a possible $1 million fine on the bank fraud conspiracy charge, according to the release. Kilpatrick, Joubert and Alexander also face up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine on a separate charge of theft by a postal employee.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the USPS Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Houston and Stafford, according to the release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Moyer is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.