Connecticut Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison for Fraud Schemes

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that MARC ANTHONY ALEXANDER, 37, formerly of Stratford and Oxford, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 96 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for operating two separate fraud schemes.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the first scheme involved the theft of postal money orders. MARC ALEXANDER and others conspired to steal blocks of blank postal money orders from the U.S. Post Office in Old Greenwich. MARC ALEXANDER, his wife Rachael Alexander, and others then imprinted the money orders with various denominations using a computer font designed to make them appear to be authentic. MARC ALEXANDER, Rachael Alexander, Bernard Harris and others then deposited the fraudulently imprinted postal money orders into numerous bank accounts, either at an ATM or at a teller window. Members of the conspiracy then withdrew and used the funds. At times, members of the conspiracy also used the fraudulently imprinted postal money orders to make payments to other individuals.

The loss from this scheme was $313,570.

The second scheme involved the fraudulent sale of financed vehicles. MARC ALEXANDER and Rachael Alexander took straw buyers to various car dealerships and had them fill out financing paperwork to buy high-end cars. Typically, the Alexanders would take the car and the straw buyers would sign a power of attorney form to allow them to obtain a new title for it. The Alexanders would then contact the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles and claim that the title had been lost and they needed a replacement title. At the DMV, they would present a fake letter from the car financing company stating that the loan had been paid off in full. After they received a new title, the Alexanders would sell the car to another dealer. The original car loans were not paid and went into default.

The straw buyers financed more than $1 million in fraudulent car loans during the course of this scheme.

ALEXANDER has been detained since his arrest on April 26, 2016. On January 17, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemming from the postal money order scheme, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud stemming from the vehicle scheme.

ALEXANDER’s criminal history includes a 2004 conviction in California for stealing the identity of an NFL athlete and using the identity to purchase a townhouse and cars, including a $245,000 Bentley. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison for that offense. In 2006, again pretending to be affiliated with the NFL, ALEXANDER defrauded two individuals he met at the gym where he worked. For that offense, he was sentenced in New London superior court to 12 years of incarceration, with seven years to serve, and five years of probation. He was on state probation while engaged in the criminal activity that resulted in these federal charges.

Rachael Alexander, also known as Rachael Vierling, and Bernard Harris have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force¸ U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Westport Police Department and Greenwich Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.