INDIANAPOLIS — Two people from Indianapolis have been sentenced to prison for stealing the identities of around 50 people in Indianapolis and Fishers through the U.S. Postal Service to commit fraud and theft.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, 31-year-old Robenson Fenelon was sentenced to over four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and theft of stolen mail.
30-year-old Squille Traxler was sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of theft of stolen mail.
According to court documents, from January 2019 through December 2020, Fenelon and Traxler stole the identities of at least 50 people living in Indianapolis and Fishers while Traxler was an U.S. Postal Service employee.
They used the stolen information to defraud financial institutions of approximately $244,222.
Officials say they used Traxler’s access to the mail to obtain the victim’s identity information, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and bank account numbers.
Fenelon would use that information to hack the victim’s bank accounts or open new bank accounts in their names.
Court documents allege Fenelon contacted the victims’ banks and requested a new debit or credit card for the account. Fenelon applied for the new accounts online or over the phone.
Fenlon and Traxler then stole the credit cards from the victim’s mail. They used the cards to withdraw cash and make personal purchases. They also stole checks from the mail and deposited them into their own accounts.
“Fraud schemes using stolen mail cause significant hardship to innocent victims and undermine trust in a vital government service,” United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers, said. “Fraudsters must be held accountable, especially those criminals who abuse the public’s trust in service of their own greed. We will continue to work diligently with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General to ensure that those who steal from the public pay a significant price.”
Fenelon and Traxler will also be supervised for three and two years following their release from prison. They will need to pay all $244,222 back.
