BISMARCK – Interim United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced that U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland sentenced Ryan Gregory Lee, Age 43, from Little Elm, Texas, to 4 years in federal prison for the charges of Bank Fraud, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 and 1349; Aggravated Identity Theft, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1028A, 1344 and 1349; and Possession of Stolen Mail, 18 U.S.C. § 1708. Judge Hovland also sentenced Lee to 3 years supervised release, a $700 Special Assessment and $3,477.44 in restitution.
On November 15, 2021, Lee pleaded guilty to four counts of Bank Fraud, two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft, and one count of Possession of Stolen Mail.
Investigation determined between October 2019 and May 2020, Ryan Lee stole mail and checks from residents’ mailboxes located in Dickinson, North Dakota, and later created fraudulent bank accounts utilizing residents’ personal identifying information contained. During this time frame, several Dickinson residents reported to law enforcement that they had mailed checks that did not arrive to their intended recipients. These residents reported that they had placed checks into their mailboxes, usually the night before the mail carrier came to their residences, only to learn that their checks were stolen when they saw the checks information had been altered and not used for their intended purposes. Law enforcement later identified that Lee, during multiple financial transactions, possessed and tendered the reported stolen checks. Lee altered the checks payee information, dollar amounts, and signatures and used other individuals’ personal identifying information to cash or tender these checks as payment at Wal-Mart or at banks in Dickinson. Additionally, law enforcement discovered that Lee used other individuals’ personal identifying information to conduct unlawful financial transactions and create fraudulent bank accounts for his own private gain.