An Oblong man and Robinson woman pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges they took checks and IDs from vehicles so they could defraud local banks out of thousands of dollars.
According to court documents, Zachary Patrick, 30, and Briana Blair, 31, stole checks and personal identifying information from a series of victims, often by burglarizing the victims’ vehicles.
Patrick and Blair then used the information however they could, writing and depositing fraudulent checks, forging victims’ signatures and withdrawing and spending thousands of dollars as they traveled around eastern Illinois and western Indiana.
The pair even opened a bank account using one victim’s stolen information.
Patrick and Blair were eventually caught in a hotel parking lot in Brazil, Ind., breaking into yet another vehicle. They initially identified themselves to law enforcement using two of the IDs they had stolen, but eventually admitted to their true identities.
Law enforcement recovered a pile of stolen IDs, credit cards and financial information after their arrest.
Both Patrick and Blair pleaded guilty in federal court in Benton to one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Patrick has local felony arrests dating back to 2017. He was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for burglary in April 2019. He was sentenced to another six years in DOC for manufacture or distribution of a lookalike substance last August.
Blair has felony and misdemeanor arrests here dating back to 2019 for charges including theft, bank fraud and possession of methamphetamine.
They are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17, and face between two and 32 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“All who have been victimized by identity theft and its related crimes understand just how serious and far-reaching its consequences can be,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.
“Along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, this office will continue to make investigating and prosecuting these offenses a top priority,” she said.
Crowe expressed gratitude for the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Springfield Field Office, the Oblong Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the other local law enforcement agencies involved for their work in investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter T. Reed is prosecuting the case.