East St. Louis, Ill. – Heather Harper, 38, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced to thirty months
in prison on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in connection with her involvement in a conspiracy to commit
bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In December 2020, Harper conspired with others to cash stolen checks and fraudulently obtain funds
from financial institutions using stolen IDs—including driver’s licenses—belonging to real
individuals living in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The scheme targeted banks located in
Southern Illinois and Missouri.
When she pled guilty, Harper admitted that her conspirators broke into vehicles in the St. Louis
area to steal checkbooks and IDs belonging to various individuals. Harper also admitted
that her conspirators wrote checks from the stolen checkbooks made payable to other persons from
whom the group had stolen identities. Harper went to banks around St. Louis and the Metro East and
attempted to cash checks made payable to the persons whose identities had been stolen. Harper often
disguised herself to look like the individuals on the stolen IDs, using accessories such as wigs.
Harper admitted that on December 11, 2020, she successfully cashed a check made payable to a person
whose identity had been stolen at First Bank in O’Fallon, Illinois.
The investigation was conducted by local law enforcement agencies, including the
O’Fallon (IL), Webster Groves, Shrewsbury, Maryland Heights, Des Peres, and St. Charles
County Police Departments, along with the United States Secret Service, Fairview Heights Domicile
Office of the Springfield Resident Office. Charges against Harper for defrauding banks in St. Louis
County are still pending.
Assistant United States Attorney Zoe J. Gross prosecuted the case.