ST. LOUIS – A Lake St. Louis woman was arrested Tuesday on a federal indictment alleging she stole tens of thousands of dollars from her disabled uncle over a five-month period.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said a federal grand jury indicted Jessica Medrano, 41, on August 10 on one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of access device fraud, and 12 counts of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, Medrano used her uncle’s debit card account between January 21 and May 16 of this year to make $12,668 worth of transactions at Walmart. Over the same period, she transferred more than $54,000 from her uncle’s bank account to her Cash App account.
Medrano appeared in U.S. District Court on the day of her arrest and pleaded not guilty.
Each count of wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The access device fraud charge carries a maximum five-year prison term and the identity theft charge has a mandatory two-year sentence, consecutive to any other charge. All of the aforementioned charges also carry a possible fine of up to $250,000.