SAN ANTONIO – Yesterday a San Antonio woman was sentenced to 45 months in prison and ordered to pay $12,443.64 in restitution for her role in a bank fraud scheme.
According to court documents, from July 2017 through June 2018, Audrey Lynne Avila, 32, carried out a scheme to defraud banks by filling out change of address forms with the U.S. Postal Service and having other people’s mail delivered to mailing addresses she controlled. She then used stolen credit cards and checks to buy items and deposit funds into her bank accounts.
On January 25, 2022, Avila pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Avila has been in federal custody since her arrest on June 4, 2021.
“This sentencing demonstrates that identity theft and fraud have serious consequences in the Western District of Texas,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “This office will aggressively prosecute those who commit such crimes.”
“The sentencing of Audrey Lynne Avila to almost four years in federal prison, in addition to forfeiture of assets, brings some closure to the anxiety and frustration that was inflicted upon her victims,” said Scott Fix, Inspector in Charge, Houston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service. “A scheme that started with stealing residential mail and grew into bank fraud now begins a long, drawn-out phase of payback: a stern reminder that postal inspectors are in the background watchfully helping to protect U.S. Mail, this time working alongside the Comal County Sheriff’s Office.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with valuable help from the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Harris prosecuted the case.
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