Update—Thursday, July 21, 2011-Court records show on Wednesday,Cindy Kosechata and Jennifer Jameson were charged with Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle. Kosechata has also been charged with two counts of Knowingling and Concealing Stolen Property, one count of Meth, Drug Paraphernalia, Operating a Vehicle with an Expired/Improper Tag and Driving Under a Suspended License.
Stolen mail, stolen cars, identity theft is in the hundreds and the ring leaders are busted in Tulsa.
Two women are in the Tulsa County Jail accused in the complicated scheme FOX23 News has been warning you about since April.
The women are accused of stealing mail in Tulsa, Creek and Pittsburg Counties and there could be more victims.
Police say this is an investigation spanning several months. Tulsa Police working with the U.S. Postal Inspector arrested Cindy Kosechata, 47, and Jennifer Jameson, 37. In April police arrested two suspects that victimized 280 people. In the most recent arrest police believe there are at least 50 victims.
FOX23’s Abbie Alford reports on who and where they hit in Tulsa.
Industrial businesses in South Tulsa between Memorial and Sheridan have locked-mailboxes on the curb and also mailboxes that you see in neighborhoods. Pry marks are still left on some business mailboxes where the thieves broke in and stole all of the mail including checks businesses were sending or waiting to cash in.
Checks that were written for $2,515.53 and $1,327.63 that never made it to where they were supposed to go.
"One of the vendors asked where their payment was,” says Clark Robinson of Robinson Glass.
His business neighbor says he had his mailbox pried open twice.
"We need those checks going into our checking account. We cash them the day we get them and this has created a big problem for us,” says Bryan Craig of Sigma Sales Inc.
The owner says they had $10,000 stolen.
"I can't imagine someone doing this anyway because it's such a traceable crime, but it's a foolish crime,” says Craig.
However, two women are accused of getting away with it for a while but are now sitting in jail because of the fraud.
They had an elaborate plan to wash and alter the stolen checks.
"These are the erasers and the white out, the different pens and magnifying glass,” says Tulsa Police Fraud Detective Cheryl Compton.
Colored pencils were also found that were used to shade in the eraser marks.
"We don't know which one is the good one, which one is the bad one because they don't look the same,” says Compton.
When you look closely at some of the checks it’s obvious they are fakes.
There were two checks from different businesses but had the same phone number.
The number dialed back to what appeared to be a personal cell phone number. The person did not return FOX23's call.
There’s not a total dollar figure but these suspected frauds made out big.
"We haven't put pen to paper to even to think about it because you are talking $500 to $800 a whack," says Compton.
Detectives even found washed birth certificates, vehicle titles and a stack of stolen license plates taken from cars similar to vehicles they stole.
"If a police officer stopped them, the tag would check to be a good tag, to a vehicle that we are looking at," says Compton.
She says Kosechata and Jameson even showed up for court on separate charges in a stolen car.
One thing is for certain these businesses are keeping a closer eye on their mail.
"We are all told that the U.S. mail is sacred, no one is supposed to mess with your mail and you can't leave it in your box to send out or wait for it when you get back, it's real frustrating,” says Robinson.
The owner of Robinson Glass now has a mail slot in its door for the mailman to drop mail on days it’s closed. Sigma Sales Inc. says that it has asked the U.S. Post Office to stop service on days it's closed.
Police recommend that you pay bills online or over the phone. They recommend that you don't send outgoing mail from your mailbox with the red-flag up. This includes all mail including cards.
Don’t throw away junk mail without shredding it. Police say thieves look for pre-approved credit cards and sweepstakes or anything with your personal information, name, address and phone number.
Police are still looking to track down the victims. If you believe you’ve been ripped off by these frauds police want you to file a report online
www.tulsapolice.org
Jail records show Kosechata is being held on $900,850 and Jameson is being held on $802,000 bond.
