Monroe County Man Charged with Mail Fraud and Identity Theft

The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 36-year-old Monroe County man was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in connection with a mail fraud and identity theft scheme.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the indictment alleges that Carlos Suarez, of East Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, used the identifying information of another person to rent a mailbox at the UPS Store located in Dunmore, Lackawanna County. Suarez then used the identifying information of the same individual as part of a scheme to order $50,000 in gold coins from a company based in Austin, Texas, and have the gold coins mailed to the UPS Store in Dunmore.

The charges against Suarez stem from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dunmore, Lackawanna County, Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Smith noted that if Suarez is convicted of the charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000

U.S. Attorney Smith noted that the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. O'Hara.

An indictment or information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.