A 21-year-old man has admitted to being part of a group that stole at least 290 checks worth more than $550,000 from mailboxes in four New Jersey counties, as well as Connecticut.
Bronx resident Alique Jordan Clarke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud as well as conspiracy to receive and possess stolen mail, the US Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday.
Another man was previously convicted and charges are pending against a third.
Clarke and his alleged accomplices stole checks from mailboxes in Morris, Essex, Somerset and Passaic counties, including outside victims’ homes between February and November 2020, prosecutors said. They then changed the payee and the amount of the checks before depositing them into the accounts they controlled, depriving hundreds of residents of their stimulus payments and other federal and state aid.
Morris County residents began reporting check theft on Feb. 7, 2020 after seeing cars pull up to curbside mailboxes, according to charging documents. The cars turned out to be rental cars.
On March 30, checks were stolen from mailboxes in front of homes in Randolph, Denville, Lincoln Park and the Towaco section of Monville, according to court documents. The next day, checks were taken from curbside mailboxes at homes in Millington and the Basking Ridge section of Bernards.
The group struck again on April 5, hitting a mailbox in Wayne. The next day, two residential mailboxes were robbed in North Caldwell, authorities said.
Investigators got a break in the case on April 6, 2020 after residents of Essex and Passaic counties saw someone in a car stealing items from residential mailboxes and called police.
Local police officers observed a vehicle matching his description speeding in the area of the robberies. The car was later found abandoned and later seized by police. It contained mail that had been searched, as well as a bottle of juice and a plastic glove.
Similar robberies occurred in Fairfield and Westport, two Connecticut cities, the official said.
Forensic analysis uncovered the fingerprints of Claude Anthony Burnet. Burnet, also from the Bronx, was charged in December 2020 with bank fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to receive and possess stolen mail.
In September, Burnet pleaded guilty to the same charges as Clarke, according to court records. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8.
Clarke and Nigel Lynch, of Yonkers, were indicted in May 2021. Clarke’s sentencing is scheduled for September 8. Charges against Lynch are still pending.
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