Joplin man, woman plead guilty to bank fraud conspiracy

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Joplin, Mo., man and woman have pleaded guilty to stealing mail from Joplin residents as part of a conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

Emily Anna-Lee Sturgis, 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Monday, July 22, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and to one count of bank fraud.

Co-defendant Aaron M. Blake, 28, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2024, to the same charges, as well as to one count of aggravated identity theft.

Sturgis and Blake admitted they conspired from December 2022 to Jan. 26, 2023, to steal mail out of residential mailboxes and off porches in Joplin. The stolen mail included credit cards, debit cards, checks, cash, jewelry, and documents that contained personal identifying information (such as names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and bank account information). They stole Pandora jewelry from one victim’s mailbox, and a Christmas card that contained a $500 check from another victim’s mailbox. They used the stolen credit cards to unlawfully make purchases.

Blake, with the knowledge and assistance of Sturgis, used the stolen personal information to open credit card accounts and bank accounts under those stolen names. He then used these fraudulently created credit and bank accounts to make unlawful purchases.

Sturgis and Blake attempted to obtain at least $13,845 from their victims and did obtain at least $12,482 from their victims.

Under federal statutes, Sturgis and Blake each is subject to a sentence of up to 60 years in federal prison without parole. Blake is also subject to a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Carthage, Mo., Police Department and the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.