Home Contra Costa County Walnut Creek Man Sentenced To More Than Two Years In Prison For Mail Theft Conspiracy

Walnut Creek Man Sentenced To More Than Two Years In Prison For Mail Theft Conspiracy

by ECT

SAN FRANCISCO – Tyler Goforth was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for his role in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemming from a mail theft scheme, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and United States Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Rafael Nuñez. The Honorable Maxine M. Chesney, U.S. District Judge, handed down the sentence.

Goforth, 35, of Walnut Creek, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charge on May 29, 2019. According to his plea agreement, Goforth admitted that he and his co-defendant, Jesslyn Felix, 35, also of Walnut Creek, traveled repeatedly to the Beacon Apartment Complex, a large apartment building in San Francisco, to steal mail from Beacon residents. The defendants visited the Beacon more than a dozen times between August 2017 and February 2018. Goforth and Felix entered one of the mailrooms at the Beacon, forced open mailboxes, and then stole mail. They then used personal information and documents found in the stolen mail to steal money from Beacon residents, which they spent for personal gain. Specifically, Goforth and Felix activated credit and debit cards in the victims’ names, stole checks and gift cards, accessed bank accounts belonging to Beacon residents, and stole photo identifications which they then used to carry out their scheme to steal money. In total, Goforth and Felix stole mail from more than 80 residents of the Beacon and stole more than $40,000 from them.

A federal grand jury indicted Goforth and Felix on January 15, 2019. The 14-count indictment charged each defendant with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; five counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1343; six counts of theft of mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1708; one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1028A; and one count of possession with intent to use or transfer five or more documents or authentication features, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1028(a)(3). Goforth and Felix both pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on May 29, 2019.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesney ordered Goforth to serve a three-year period of supervised release to begin at the completion of the prison term. Goforth has been in custody since May 6, 2019.

Judge Chesney scheduled Felix’s sentencing for September 18, 2019. Like Goforth, if Felix complies with the plea agreement, the remaining counts pending against her will be dismissed at sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Weingarten is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service.

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1 comment

intolerant of thieves Aug 27, 2019 - 5:36 pm

I would have also strongly recommended that their nuts be sliced off with an X-Acto knife!

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