Griswold man gets federal sentence in check fraud scheme

A Griswold man was sentenced Thursday for his role in a bank fraud scheme that involved stealing checks from people’s mailboxes.

Kyle Seibert, 21, was sentenced in Bridgeport to three years of probation, the first six months of which will be served in home confinement, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. In December, Seibert pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Between July 2007 and March 2008, Seibert and Justin Edwards of Coventry stole balance transfer checks, also called convenience checks, from mailboxes. The two men, along with Timothy Taylor of Mansfield, then opened bank accounts at various state banks, made the stolen checks payable to themselves and deposited them into accounts they had opened, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Seibert and Edwards then withdrew the cash before the financial institutions discovered the deposits were fraudulent.

Seibert and the other men were able to deposit about $188,000 in fraudulent checks and defrauded the banks of about $89,000. The men were ordered to pay back the amount to the banks.

Edwards is already serving a prison sentence and Taylor was sentenced to probation for his role.