CT man gets prison for scheme that saw mail stolen from hundreds of state residents

A New Haven man was sentenced this week to more than 6 years in prison for a mail theft, identity theft, and bank fraud scheme, according to federal authorities.

Marquis Williams, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to a total of 78 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $116,152 in restitution to his victims, according to federal authorities.

Authorities, citing both court documents and statements made in court, said that “from at least 2018 through November 2019, Williams and his then-girlfriend, Dara Morrison, stole mail from hundreds of residential mailboxes in Connecticut.”

Further, the mail contained “checks, driver’s licenses, passports, social security cards, banking information, and other personally identifying information from businesses and individuals throughout Connecticut, including elderly nursing home residents,” authorities said in a statement.

The pair also used stolen identities to create fake IDs, and used them to cash or deposit stolen checks, authorities said in the statement, noting the two also used the stolen checks “to create additional, forged copies of checks that they then cashed or deposited into accounts they opened using stolen identities.”

Morrison also “used and attempted to use stolen credit cards,”  authorities said.

Williams was arrested in Nov. 2019 and when investigators searched his home and vehicles, they found “numerous drivers’ licenses and identification cards with photographs of Williams or Morrison, but with different names and addresses; multiple passports, social security cards, drivers’ licenses, and other documents in the names of victims,” authorities said in the statement. Also found were about 50 debit and credit cards in the names of victims; notebooks containing victims’ information, about 130 checks, some “showing signs of alteration, written from and to potential victims” and items used “to alter checks and make false identifications; and trash bags filled with stolen mail.”

Investigators identified more than 70 bank fraud victims in the case, authorities said.

Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in May 2022 and Morrison pleaded guilty to the same offense, authorities said. Bryant sentenced Morrison to “time served”, which was about 37 months, authorities said.

Th case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service and the Hamden, Wallingford, Waterford, Guilford, and Old Saybrook police departments. Anyone who believes they are a victim of mail theft can file a complaint by calling 888-USPS-OIG or by visiting https://www.uspsoig.gov/form/file-online-complaint.