Three Charged in Tampa With Trying to Steal More Than $2 Million in Treasury Checks Taken From the Mail
Two Brooklyn residents and a Tampa woman are indicted on charges they took Treasury checks from the mail and cashed them with fake driver’s licenses.
Three people have been arrested and charged in a federal indictment in Tampa with trying to steal more than $2 million in U.S. Treasury checks that were taken from the mail before they reached the people they were meant for, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026.
The defendants are Stanley Richardson Joseph, 28, and Kallie Nicole Valerie Halliday, 26, both of Brooklyn, New York, and Kristy Marie Bochecchio, 47, of Tampa. Each is charged with conspiracy, theft of government money or property, and aggravated identity theft.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
According to the indictment, as described by prosecutors:
- The three intercepted Treasury checks that had been put in the mail for delivery to the victims.
- Once they had a check, they made counterfeit driver’s licenses in the names of the people the check was made out to.
- They used the fake licenses to open new accounts at several financial institutions and deposited the stolen checks.
The announcement does not say how many checks were involved, where they were taken from the mail, how much money was actually withdrawn, or how the scheme was discovered, and the indictment was not released with it.
The penalties
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said each defendant faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts. Under federal law, aggravated identity theft also carries a mandatory two-year prison term that must be served in addition to the sentence for the underlying crime. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of any proceeds traceable to the offenses.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated, with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations in New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Merrilyn Hoenemeyer is prosecuting the case.
If a Treasury check never arrives
Treasury checks include federal tax refunds. A taxpayer whose refund check was issued but never arrived, or was lost, can ask the IRS to trace it using Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, according to the IRS.
Joseph, Halliday and Bochecchio are presumed innocent. The allegations have not been proven in court.
