Sheriff’s Office Plays Role in Nationwide Conspiracy Busts
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Investigators from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office played a role in the arrest of two Florida men who pled guilty last week in federal court to a nationwide conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In pleading guilty, Joshua Mallory, 37, and Gary, Grier, 36, both of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, admitted that they were involved in a fraud scheme known as the “Felony Lane Gang” between 2015 and 2020. According to United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville, Mallory, Grier, and several co-conspirators traveled across the country breaking into cars, often targeting those parked by women at locations such as health and fitness centers, daycares, outdoor recreational parks, and dog parks.
Mallory, Grier, and other members of the conspiracy stole debit cards, credit cards, checkbooks, and photo identifications in these “smash-and-grab” vehicle thefts, and used the stolen items to commit bank fraud by recruiting women to impersonate the smash-and-grab victims in drive-through bank lanes and cash checks. The recruited check cashers almost always suffered from an addiction to controlled substances and were provided payment at least partially in narcotics. Mallory and Grier each admitted that the loss amount from the conspiracy attributable to them was at least $95,000.
McConville said investigators with the Sheriff’s Office were involved in the case due to numerous larcenies and bank fraud cases throughout Putnam County, going back to around 2018. The Investigators worked closely with the FBI Task Force members and local and state police agencies across the country, which resulted in numerous arrests.
The charges to which Mallory and Grier pled guilty carry a minimum sentence of two years in prison, a maximum sentence of 30 years, a fine of up to $1 million, and a supervised release term of up to five years. Mallory will be sentenced on May 1, and Grier will be sentenced on April 19. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
Mallory and Grier were two of nine men charged in a 13-count indictment for their roles in the scheme. Each of the remaining defendants is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and/or aggravated identity theft. They are scheduled for trial in federal court in Syracuse on Jan. 24.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
