PORTLAND AREA MAIL THIEF SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR BANK FRAUD, IDENTITY THEFT, AND POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE

U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Washington County, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for using stolen bank checks and debit cards to defraud local residents and illegally possessing distribution quantities of methamphetamine.

William Anthony McCormack, Jr., 40, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $8,553 in restitution to his victims.

According to court documents, between June and September 2020, McCormack devised a scheme whereby he would steal bank checks and debit cards from community mailboxes, primarily in Washington County, and use them to make unauthorized withdrawals from victims’ bank accounts. On at least five separate occasions, McCormack deposited stolen checks into victims’ Rivermark Community Credit Union accounts and immediately made unauthorized withdrawals from the same accounts.

On September 29, 2020, during a traffic stop for speeding and driving with a suspended license, a Tualatin Police officer arrested McCormack pursuant to a federal arrest warrant. At the time of his arrest, McCormack possessed 30 small plastic baggies containing approximately 30 grams of methamphetamine and two 9mm handguns. Officers also found several driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, and pieces of stolen mail in McCormack’s vehicle and hotel room.

On September 24, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 12-count indictment charging McCormack with possession of stolen mail, possession of counterfeit U.S. Postal Service arrow keys, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Later, on March 29, 2021, he was charged by superseding criminal information with one count each of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On April 14, 2021, McCormack pleaded guilty to all three charges in the superseding criminal information.

Prior to pleading guilty, on March 16, 2021, McCormack was released from custody on conditions and placed into a residential drug treatment program. Less than three weeks after pleading guilty, he absconded from the treatment program and a warrant was issued for his arrest. McCormack’s whereabouts were unknown for more than a year before he was arrested by the Tigard Police Department on June 5, 2022.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Meredith D.M. Bateman, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

If you or someone you know are the victim of or witness a mail-related crime, please contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by visiting www.uspis.gov/report.

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