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PORTLAND, Ore.—A Washington County, Oregon man pleaded guilty today for using stolen bank checks and debit cards to defraud local residents and illegally possessing distribution quantities of methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug.
William Anthony McCormack, Jr., 39, pleaded guilty to a superseding criminal information charging him with one count each of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, between June and September 2020, McCormack devised a scheme whereby he would steal bank checks and debit cards from community mailboxes, primarily in Washington County, and use them to make unauthorized withdrawals from victims’ bank accounts. On at least five separate occasions, McCormack deposited stolen checks into victims’ Rivermark Community Credit Union accounts and immediately made unauthorized withdrawals from the same accounts.
On September 29, 2020, during a traffic stop for speeding and driving with a suspended license, a Tualatin Police officer arrested McCormack pursuant to a federal arrest warrant. At the time of his arrest, McCormack possessed 30 small plastic baggies containing at least 5 grams of methamphetamine and two 9mm handguns in the glove compartment of his vehicle. Officers also found several driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, and pieces of mail that did not belong to him in McCormack’s trunk and hotel room.
McCormack faces a maximum sentence of 72 years in prison, a $6.25 million fine, and five years’ supervised release. He is subject to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of seven years. McCormack will be sentenced on July 27, 2021 before U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown.
As part of his plea agreement, McCormack has agreed to pay restitution in full to his victims as ordered to the court.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Meredith Bateman and Scott Bradford, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
If you or someone you know are the victim of or witness a mail-related crime, please contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by visiting www.uspis.gov/report.
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