Eight people tied to a 10-state theft and bank fraud scheme were indicted Thursday by a grand jury in Seattle on 18 federal crimes including bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
The reported scheme involved more than $700,000 where people stole wallets in grocery stores, drained bank accounts, cash advances and used stolen credit cards, checks and debit cards. The case included a deposit at a Wells Fargo bank in Kent. No grocery stores in Kent were listed in the charges. But thefts were reported at grocery stores in Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Olympia, Tumwater, Mercer Island, Seattle and other cities.
Five of the eight defendants have been arrested, and another is already serving a prison sentence in Nevada and will be arraigned on the indictment on Aug. 31, and Sept. 7, according to a media release from the U.S. Attoney’s Office.
According to the indictment and other records filed in the case, the theft ring was led by Alexandra Shelburne, 24, and Darryl Kilgore, 55, who used the proceeds of their scheme to buy and flip homes in the greater Los Angeles area, further laundering their stolen money.
Between July 2014, and July 2017, the couple would prowl the aisles of grocery stores throughout the country, including the greater Seattle area. After creating a distraction, they would steal the victim’s wallet and immediately use the credit and debit cards, the identification documents, and blank checks for fraud.
The couple, who were arrested at their home in Las Vegas, recruited other co-conspirators to pose as the victims at area banks to make large cash withdrawals or obtain cash advances. In Western Washington alone the fraud totaled more than $230,000. In the states of Minnesota, Oregon, California, Michigan, Texas, New Jersey, Colorado, Ohio, and Utah the fraud totaled more than $500,000.
On Nov. 20, 2014, court documents show that $9,500 was deposited into a Wells Fargo checking account in Kent connected with the case.
Other defendants indicted in the case are Robin Perry, 54 of Las Vegas; Amber Okhomina, 35 of Ontario, Canada; Frederick Jackson, 62 of Los Angeles; Susan Koller, 49, of Toronto, Canada; Stacia Quarto, 63 of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Elizabeth Evans, 43, of Las Vegas.
All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Kilgore and Shelburne are charged with eight counts of bank fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and five counts of money laundering. Kilgore and Shelburne are both charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year sentence per count on top of any sentence imposed on the other charges. Perry, Okhomina,Quarto and Koller are each charged in one count of aggravated identity theft.
The U.S. Secret Service and the Kirkland Police Department are investigating the case.
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