A Hialeah man and woman were taken into custody on mail fraud charges in an alleged scam involving stolen checks, according to police.
According to the official report, Yania Gato Romero, 40, and Yohan Mayo, 36, were detained on April 3 and charged with mail theft and possessing five or more pieces of personally identifiable information.
On April 3, surveillance video showed a black Nissan Sentra “pulling up next to the mailbox, where the passenger took an envelope containing a personal check that was about to be mailed,” according to the Port Orange Police Department.
Suspected vehicle
According to the arrest report, authorities used surveillance video and automatic license plate readers to identify the accused vehicle, which was registered to Gato Romero.
After issuing a BOLO — a “be on the lookout” warning — deputies from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office discovered the vehicle in a Publix parking lot in Deltona. Officers later observed a man and a woman exit the business and enter the suspicious automobile.
Deputies performed a traffic stop as the duo attempted to depart the parking lot, identifying the driver as Yohan Mayo and the passenger as Yania Gato Romero, according to the report.
Tens of thousands of dollars in checks
According to officers, after a search of the vehicle, they discovered “approximately 40 checks with an estimated value of $47,000, including the victim’s check that prompted the initial report.”
According to the report, investigators identified 25 victims in Volusia and Flagler counties who, in most cases, were unaware that their checks had been stolen until police contacted them.
Some checks were donations
According to the document, among the checks seized were gifts to groups that support children and animals, such as St. Jude Hospital and food banks. The majority of the remaining checks were meant for bill and service payments.
Authorities contacted the US Postal Inspection Service about the mail thefts, prompting a federal investigation into both individuals.
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