A Kansas City woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to her involvement in a bank fraud scheme. Aviance Shepard, 34, admitted that she obtained a check for $881,324 belonging to another person after it was stolen from the United Parcel Service mail stream in March 2023.
According to court documents, Shepard opened a business account at a local financial institution using the name of the check’s payee. On March 27, 2023, she deposited the stolen and altered check into this newly created account.
The following day, Shepard acquired five cashier’s checks totaling $320,000 for herself and others. She also withdrew $20,000 in cash from the same account.
On March 27, 2023, the issuer of the check realized it had been lost or stolen from a UPS package and issued a stop payment order. However, by the time the bank received this notice, Shepard had already withdrawn $340,000 through cashier’s checks and cash.
“Shepard is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole for bank fraud. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of Shepard will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office,” according to information released by authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney is prosecuting this case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation.
