New York man sentenced after being caught with more than $220,000 in stolen checks
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A New York man was sentenced Thursday after being found with stolen checks in York County.
William Stewart, 29, was sentenced to 3½ years in a federal prison with a three-year term of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $325.40 in restitution.
In April, Stewart was pulled over by a York County deputy while driving east on Interstate 80 in a rental car.
As the deputy made contact with Stewart, he smelled marijuana and searched his vehicle, finding a suitcase with United States Postal Service envelopes inside.
The envelopes had over 392 personal checks, 1,310 blank checks and 42 blank check backs. 294 of the checks were stolen from various people or businesses.
The victims’ checks were all dated between December 2023 and April, and originated across five states. The checks ranged in value $1 to $31,000 and totaled $222,439.95.
Aside from stolen money, Stewart was also found with a FedEx uniform, marijuana and two United States Postal Service master keys used to open a collection of mailboxes.
Deputies reached out to two different victims whom the checks belonged to, and they confirmed they had not given Stewart permission to use the checks.
