Sisters convicted of mail theft scheme | Crime

Bradenton, Florida -- Two Bradenton sisters were convicted by a federal jury Wednesday on charges of mail theft and bank fraud.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 29-year-old Milandar Thimogene and 27-year-old Carline Jean, along with others, stole mail to get banking and personal information as well as gift cards.

Authorities say the mail was stolen from curbside blue U.S. Postal Service collection boxes. Thimogene and Jean would then impersonate account holders at various banks and attempt to cash fraudulent checks.

On Oct. 26, 2010, Thimogene was arrested while trying to flee from Sarasota deputies. During her arrest, deputies found 137 pieces of unopened mail that she and co-conspirators had just stolen from a Sarasota Post Office's blue collection box.

In December 2010, the Riverview Post Office's blue collection box was burglarized. A few days later, Jean was seen on a Walmart surveillance camera using gift cards stolen from the collection box to buy various items.

The two women were found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail theft, destruction of letter mailboxes or mail, identity theft and bank fraud. They each face a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison on each of the charges. They will be sentenced on Sept. 14, 2012.