Six Anchorage residents have been charged in a large mail fraud case.
Assistant U.S Attorney Aunnie Steward said the suspects used altered checks from stolen mail and stolen vehicles in order to defraud various banks and stores throughout Anchorage — all the while using stolen identities.
“The allegations show that this was one of the more successful mail fraud rings that we have charged in this district, specifically in Anchorage,” Steward said.
Steward said between stolen checks and stolen identities, there were almost 200 victims in the fraud case. An indictment from a grand jury totals 29 counts ranging from aggravated identity theft to bank fraud.
Two of the defendants, Sara and Jonathan James, had court hearings today at the Federal Building in Anchorage. Another two defendants — Braden Asbury and Karri Embach — are also in custody.
Two of the defendants remain at large.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
