08/21/2022

Second “Felony Lane Gang” Member Who Defrauded Illinois Bank By Impersonating Victims of Identity Theft Sentenced to 34 Months in Prison

U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Illinois

East St. Louis, Ill. – Mary M. Thornhill, 36, of Knoxville, TN, was sentenced on Wednesday, August 
17th, to 34 months in prison for her involvement in a bank fraud scheme that targeted female 
victims in Southern Illinois.

In July 2021, Thornhill conspired with others to cash stolen checks and fraudulently obtain funds 
from financial institutions using stolen IDs—including driver’s licenses—belonging to real 
individuals living in Southern Illinois. The group targeted banks located in the Metro East, 
including those in Glen Carbon and Wood River.

At the time of her guilty plea, Thornhill admitted that members of the conspiracy broke into 
vehicles parked in public places throughout Southern Illinois to steal valuables left in those 
vehicles, including purses and wallets containing IDs and checkbooks. After the thefts, members of 
the organization wrote checks from the stolen checkbooks made payable to other persons from whom 
the group had stolen identities.

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