A Jefferson County resident has been found guilty for his involvement in a conspiracy to obtain and deposit stolen checks, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
Deizman Deandre Ellis, 24, of McCalla, Alabama, was convicted on all five charges after a three-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala. The charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of stolen mail, and fraudulent use of unauthorized access devices.
Evidence presented at the trial showed that Ellis played a leading role in a large-scale scheme from August 2023 to February 2024. During this period, business and personal checks were stolen from blue postal boxes in the Tuscaloosa area using stolen postal keys. Ellis and other conspirators deposited the stolen checks into accounts belonging to co-conspirators and then withdrew cash from those accounts.
In March, Eric Bernard Carter, Jr., 27, of Birmingham, Alabama, who was also involved in the scheme, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with help from the Northport Police Department, Rainbow City Police Department, and Tuscaloosa Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett A. Janich and William R. McComb are prosecuting the case.
