Counterfeit Check Ring Stole Hundreds of Mail Items, Cost Banks Nearly $500,000

A sophisticated counterfeit check operation that stole hundreds of items from postal collection boxes across South Jersey has resulted in multiple federal convictions and nearly $500,000 in losses to regional banks, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.

The scheme, which ran from early 2021 through February 2025, involved intercepting legitimate checks, altering their amounts and payees, then rapidly withdrawing funds before financial institutions detected the fraud through a network of recruited account holders.

Background and Context

The counterfeit check ring represents a growing trend of mail theft-based financial crimes that exploit delays in the banking verification system. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey, the operation specifically targeted U.S. mail collection boxes, using stolen keys to access outgoing mail containing checks.

The scheme took advantage of the standard banking practice of making funds available before checks fully clear, creating a window of opportunity that criminals exploited across multiple financial institutions. Federal investigators identified the operation as part of a broader pattern of mail theft-related financial crimes affecting the Philadelphia metropolitan region.

Key Figures and Entities

Yasmene Johnson, 29, of Mount Laurel and Philadelphia, admitted her role in the conspiracy on November 18, pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to charging documents, Johnson participated in the ring from January 2021 through February 2025. Her sentencing has not been scheduled, but the aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum two-year prison term.

Other convicted participants include Dante Ford, 29, of Pennsauken and Sewell, who received a 22-month sentence in July 2025 and was ordered to pay approximately $607,000 in restitution. Tracy Carter-Felder, 24, of Blackwood, received an 18-month sentence on October 21 with restitution set at $190,000. Additional sentences were handed down to Donovan Bunch, 24, of Sicklerville (33 months, $45,300 restitution) and Quamell Keyes-Griffin, 22, of Sicklerville (18 months, $151,155 restitution).

Legal and Financial Mechanisms

According to a criminal complaint filed in August 2024, the ring employed a multi-step process to execute the fraud. After intercepting legitimate checks from mail collection boxes, members would alter the checks by increasing their face values and changing the names of payees. The operation then recruited individuals to provide their bank accounts for depositing these counterfeit instruments.

Once deposited, ring members would immediately withdraw funds from ATMs or use debit cards to make purchases before banks discovered the checks were fraudulent. The complaint describes how the operation also obtained debit cards "using stolen means of identification" to facilitate rapid fund extraction.

A December 2022 traffic stop in Pennsylvania revealed the scope of the operation when police found a vehicle containing a gun, two mailbox keys, two trash bags of stolen mail, and 11 debit or credit cards in third parties' names. The vehicle had previously been identified on ATM surveillance footage during a counterfeit check deposit in Clementon.

International Implications and Policy Response

The case highlights systemic vulnerabilities in mail security and banking verification processes that enable such fraud schemes to proliferate. Financial institutions including Navy Federal Credit Union, TD Bank, Bank of America, and the former Republic Bank were targeted, demonstrating how localized criminal operations can impact multiple financial systems simultaneously.

Federal prosecutors have emphasized the need for enhanced verification protocols and improved mail security measures to combat similar schemes. The case has contributed to ongoing discussions about modifying fund availability policies and implementing more robust check verification systems to reduce the window of opportunity for such fraudulent activities.

Sources

This report draws on court documents from the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, criminal complaints and plea agreements from the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey, and sentencing records from July and October 2025. Additional information comes from law enforcement reports detailing the December 2022 vehicle search and subsequent investigations.