St. Louis, MO – Kenneth Edwards, St. Louis, admitted to a wire fraud scheme involving identity theft and counterfeit checks this morning. Edwards pled guilty to three counts of wire fraud associated with checks presented at the Maplewood Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in December 2015.
According to his plea agreement, Edwards and others unknown stole identifiers of an area individual and used that information to create checks he used to purchase high end electronics. Judge Ronnie White, who accepted Edwards’ guilty plea, set a sentencing date of July 5, 2017.
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 or both. Restitution is also mandatory. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
The case was investigated by the Maplewood Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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