Raleigh man recruited ‘money mules’ to deposit checks stolen from mailboxes
For nearly a year, Carl Edwin Parker Jr. stole checks from more than 100 mailboxes, changed the names of who could cash them and had recruits called “money mules” deposit them in their bank accounts, the U.S. Attorney office said.
Parker and several co-conspirators would then withdraw cash from the banks at ATMS. In that time, the fraud ring stole more than $150,000, usually in checks for several thousand dollars at a time, court records said.
This week, a federal judge in Elizabeth City sentenced Parker, a Raleigh resident, to 63 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He must also serve five years of supervised probation and repay State Employees Credit Union.
Parker was convicted of a similar offense in 2017, having stolen more than 70 checks from residential mailboxes in an specified location the year before, court records show, according to a U.S. Attorney office press release.
Co-conspirators in the case included Khristopher Taion Stukes, Kauri Maleek Johnson-Chavis and Jallani Jewels Stewart, according to the release. They pleaded guilty in separate, related cases.
The FBI reports that “money mules” are often unaware they are helping criminals when recruited for bank services, and it offers several tips for knowing legitimate offers from bad.
Among them: Never accept an employer’s suggestion of using your own bank account to transfer money.