ST. LOUIS, MO – September 26, 2026 (STL.News) Eight people have been indicted in a federal investigation into an alleged scheme involving $3.4 million in U.S. Treasury checks stolen from the mail, fraudulent identification documents, and attempts to obtain money through St. Louis-area financial institutions.
Federal prosecutors say two of the defendants, Samuel Stewart, 27, of St. Louis, and Royce Finger, 22, of Maryland Heights, recruited homeless people to participate in the alleged scheme, providing them with housing and clothing and coaching them before taking them to financial institutions.
The allegations are detailed in a federal indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
According to prosecutors, the Treasury checks involved in the case had a combined value of approximately $3.4 million. The defendants are accused of depositing the checks and then withdrawing or attempting to withdraw the proceeds.
The charges are allegations. All eight defendants have appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty, according to the Justice Department. They are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Prosecutors allege stolen checks came from four states
The indictment alleges that Stewart and Finger received U.S. Treasury checks that had been stolen from mail in Florida, Minnesota, California, and Tennessee.
The alleged activity occurred from as early as November 2024 through January 2026, according to federal prosecutors.
The government alleges that Stewart and Finger created fraudulent driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, and other identification documents that could be used to deposit or cash the Treasury checks.
The allegations describe a process that prosecutors say went beyond simply obtaining stolen checks.
According to the indictment, Stewart and Finger allegedly provided housing and clothing to people participating in the scheme and transported them to financial institutions.
Prosecutors say participants were coached before entering banks so they would be prepared to answer employee questions, particularly about why a Treasury check showed an address in another state.
The participants allegedly told bank employees that they had recently moved to the St. Louis area.
To support those explanations, prosecutors allege they provided fraudulent utility bills and identification documents.
$937,809 Treasury check detailed in indictment
One transaction federal prosecutors outlined involved a Treasury check worth $937,809.
According to the indictment, Stewart and Finger provided defendant David Sims, 68, with fraudulent identification that Sims allegedly used to deposit the stolen check.
Prosecutors say the defendants then caused $597,890 to be withdrawn.
The indictment describes another large transaction involving Sims several months earlier.
On July 21, 2025, Stewart and Finger allegedly provided Sims with a fraudulent passport and a stolen Treasury check worth $669,185.
Prosecutors allege Sims later returned to the financial institution and withdrew $6,500.
Those transactions illustrate the size of some of the individual Treasury checks involved in the case, although the indictment covers numerous alleged transactions and defendants.
The Justice Department said Sims was the last defendant arrested in the investigation. He appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Thursday, Sept. 24, for a detention hearing.
Eight defendants face federal charges
Prosecutors indicted Stewart on a series of federal charges on May 6.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Stewart faces one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, 10 counts of possession of stolen mail, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and nine counts of forging endorsements on Treasury checks.
Finger faces one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, six counts of bank fraud, 10 counts of possession of stolen mail, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and nine counts involving forged endorsements on Treasury checks, according to prosecutors.
The other defendants identified by federal prosecutors are:
David Sims, 68; Jose Marti, 37; Christopher Brown, 50; Cynthia Conner, 51; Ryan Ewald, 47; and Lisa Taca, 48.
The defendants face different charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Sims, Marti, and Brown face various counts across the five categories of charges in the prosecution.
Conner, Ewald and Taca face various counts involving conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possession of stolen mail and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors allege the group deposited stolen checks and withdrew money from financial institutions.
The government has not established those allegations at trial.
Charges carry potentially lengthy prison sentences
The federal charges carry substantial maximum penalties if defendants are convicted.
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud are each punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both, according to the Justice Department.
Forging an endorsement on a Treasury check is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a potential fine of up to $1 million.
Possession of stolen mail is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Aggravated identity theft carries a particularly significant sentencing provision. A conviction carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence, served consecutively to another sentence, according to federal prosecutors.
Those are statutory potential penalties and should not be interpreted as predictions of sentences in this case. Any sentence following a conviction would depend on the applicable law, federal sentencing procedures, and the facts determined in the individual defendant’s case.
Case involves multiple federal and local agencies
The investigation involved IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.
The involvement of postal inspectors reflects a central component of the government’s allegations: prosecutors contend that the Treasury checks originated in mail stolen in multiple states before being brought into the alleged St. Louis-area operation.
The investigation also involves allegations of bank fraud and identity theft, putting several different types of federal offenses into a single prosecution.
Stolen checks remain a federal enforcement issue
The new case comes amid other federal prosecutions involving checks stolen from the mail in the St. Louis region, although those cases are separate and there is no indication they are connected to the Stewart and Finger prosecution.
In a separate case announced earlier by the Eastern District of Missouri, federal prosecutors accused Malik Jones of Berkeley of recruiting people to provide debit cards and banking information that could be used to deposit forged or fraudulent checks.
The government alleged in that case that Jones obtained checks from mail stolen from collection boxes and mailboxes in the St. Louis area, altered information on the checks, and attempted to withdraw money before financial institutions discovered the fraud.
That prosecution was a separate matter and should not be confused with the current $3.4 million Treasury-check case.
Another separate St. Louis-area case underscored the vulnerability of checks moving through the mail.
In May 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that former U.S. Postal Service supervisor Benita D. Randle had pleaded guilty to stealing checks from the mail.
Federal prosecutors said Randle admitted to stealing 89 checks while working at the St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center and giving the mail to another individual who removed the checks.
According to the Justice Department, investigators identified 90 stolen or counterfeit checks in that case with a combined face value of $369,248.
Again, authorities have not alleged that the Randle case is connected to the eight-defendant prosecution announced this week. The cases instead demonstrate that stolen checks and mail-related financial fraud have generated multiple federal investigations in the St. Louis region.
Allegations span more than a year
The timeline alleged in the latest indictment is significant because prosecutors say the activity lasted for more than a year.
The government traces the alleged conduct back to at least November 2024 and says it continued through January 2026.
During that period, prosecutors allege stolen Treasury checks originating in four states were brought into a system involving fraudulent identification, fabricated explanations about changes of address, and attempts to access money through St. Louis-area financial institutions.
The indictment’s allegations concerning homeless participants are also notable.
Rather than alleging only that participants were handed checks, prosecutors contend Stewart and Finger provided housing and clothing and coached people about what to say if bank employees questioned discrepancies between their location and the out-of-state addresses appearing on Treasury checks.
That allegation is central to the government’s description of how the scheme allegedly operated. It has not yet been proven in court.
All eight defendants plead not guilty
Despite the extensive allegations contained in the indictment, the case remains at the prosecution stage.
The Justice Department said all eight defendants have appeared in court and pleaded not guilty.
An indictment represents allegations approved for prosecution by a grand jury; it does not determine that a defendant committed the alleged crimes.
If the cases proceed to trial, federal prosecutors must prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation nevertheless represents a significant financial-fraud prosecution for the Eastern District of Missouri because of the amount of money allegedly involved, the number of defendants, and the interstate origin of the stolen Treasury checks.
For now, the central allegation is that checks with a combined value of approximately $3.4 million were stolen from the mail and then deposited at St. Louis-area financial institutions, where defendants allegedly withdrew or attempted to withdraw the proceeds.
Prosecutors will ultimately determine whether they can prove those allegations through the federal court process.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, federal indictment information released Sept. 24, 2026.
Legal notice: The charges described in this report are allegations. An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
