A southern Illinois grand jury returned a 19-count indictment charging a Fayette County woman for working as a “money mule” within a conspiracy to defraud victims and use their stolen identities.
54-year-old Elizabeth Conrad of Ramsey is facing one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, one count of access device fraud, seven counts of money laundering and seven counts of aggravated identity theft.
US Attorney Steven Weinhoeft says criminal conspiracies are as varied as the creative minds behind them, limited only by the ingenuity of the con artists orchestrating the scheme. He warns everyone to be extremely cautious anytime someone you have never met offers investments, employment, or asks for money, electronics, or your personal information, because it’s likely a scam.
According to court documents, Conrad is accused of serving as a “money mule” for other scammers in a conspiracy to defraud victims from at least June 2020 until September 2022. Money mules are people who, at someone else’s direction, receive and move money or valuables obtained from victims of fraud. Money mules add layers of distance between crime victims and criminals, which makes it harder for law enforcement to accurately trace funds that are fraudulently obtained from victims.
The indictment alleges Conrad accepted packages at her home sent through the mail from victims containing cash, checks, gift cards and electronics. Knowing the goods were fraudulently acquired, Conrad would then repackage the items and send off to her co-conspirators. Conrad is also accused of attempting to deposit the checks and wiring funds to her co-conspirators in cryptocurrency.
In addition to the mail fraud, Conrad’s charges for access device fraud, identity theft and money laundering stem from accusations of her and co-conspirators using victims’ names to acquire debit cards that were sent to Conrad. Conrad is accused of using those debit cards for bank withdrawals and purchases to benefit the conspiracy. The indictment outlines ten fraudulent transactions that Conrad is accused of making at ATMs and gas stations in southern Illinois from March through June 2022, and alleges that she received thousands of dollars from these transactions to benefit the conspiracy.
Convictions for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering and mail fraud are punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Access device fraud is punishable up to 10 years’ imprisonment and conspiracy to commit access device fraud is punishable up to five years’ imprisonment. Aggravated identity theft is a mandatory two years’ imprisonment consecutive to the imposed sentence.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service St. Louis Field Office is leading the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Gross is prosecuting the case
