HARRISBURG, PA — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on December 19, 2022, Algernon Donte Martin, age 26, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner following his conviction for bank fraud. Judge Conner also ordered Martin to pay victims restitution in the amount of $82,969.06 and to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Martin was a member of a conspiracy in which he and others stole mail from postal boxes, rifled that mail to find checks that had been made payable to third parties, and then altered the checks and deposited them in other bank accounts. The conspiracy was formed in the New York City area, and its reach extended into central Pennsylvania. The investigation identified at least 40 stolen checks, of which 19 had been cashed, resulting in financial losses to victims. The conspiracy involved the participation of Kazaria Blair, age 32, a U.S. Postal Service employee working in the Harrisburg area. Blair provided the conspirators access to a postal key that enabled them to open blue postal collection boxes to steal the mail. She has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in relation to the scheme.
Judge Conner previously sentenced two co-defendants:
- Edward Hart, age 32, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced to 18 months in prison; and,
- Travis Terrell Price, age 27, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to serve four months in prison.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service – Harrisburg Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian T. Haugsby prosecuted the case.
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