Modern ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ looted mail in SC, GA to take over bank accounts, feds say
A South Carolina couple calling themselves a “modern-day Bonnie and Clyde” is facing felony charges after the government said they raided mailboxes across the Southeast to steal personal information and gain access to individuals’ bank accounts.
Prosecutors said the pair executed wire transfers, opened lines of credit and wrote fake checks in an attempt to steal more than half a million dollars from at least 100 victims in three states. A grand jury indicted the boyfriend, 33-year-old Michael H. Boatwright, on Wednesday, April 6, in the Southern District of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.
His girlfriend, 29-year-old Stephanie Michelle Lea Napier, was charged in January and pleaded guilty last month, court documents show.
The couple is from Chesterfield, South Carolina, a town of roughly 1,500 people about 5 miles from the North Carolina border. Their alleged crime spree spanned from South Carolina down to Florida over the course of eight months, prosecutors said.
“These charges demonstrate the dedication of our law enforcement partners in identifying and tracking down activities that started with swiping mail from mailboxes and led all the way to identity theft and financial fraud,” U.S. Attorney David H. Estes said in the release. “Those determined to be responsible for such illegal activities will be held accountable.”
Boatwright and Napier could not be reached for comment, and information regarding Boatwright’s legal counsel was not available. Napier’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on April 8.
According to Boatwright’s indictment, he and Napier referred to themselves as a “modern-day Bonnie and Clyde” as they drove around looting mailboxes in search of personal identifiable information they could use to gain access to various bank accounts between November 2020 and June 2021.
Once they got into an individual’s bank account, prosecutors said, the pair wired money to accounts they controlled or wrote bogus checks, which they then reportedly forwarded to an address in Jacksonville, Florida, where they could pick them up.
In one instance, Boatwright and Napier managed to wire $271,000 from accounts belonging to two victims in Georgia, the government said.
The couple is also accused of opening bank accounts and applying for debit and credit cards using the names of identity theft victims.
“Together, Boatwright and Napier stole and attempted to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from their many victims, and caused substantial non-monetary harm and headaches for countless victims who had to deal with Boatwright and Napier’s blatant and far-ranging identity theft,” prosecutors said in Boatwright’s indictment.
Napier was charged at the end of January with conspiring to commit wire fraud, court documents show.
She pleaded guilty in March and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to her plea agreement, though federal sentences are often far less than the maximum. Her sentencing date has not been set.
Boatwright was indicted on charges of conspiring to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, theft of mail and aggravated identity theft.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Modern ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ looted mail in SC, GA to take over bank accounts, feds say."
