SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Osceola, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a bank fraud conspiracy, as well as wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

David M. Riili, 33, of Osceola, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr to the charges contained in a Jan. 24, 2012, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Riili admitted that he stole checks, credit cards and other mail from business and residential mailboxes in southwest Missouri. He then altered and forged the stolen checks by adding the names of other individuals to the payee lines of the stolen checks. Conspirators cashed the checks or deposited them into Riili’s bank account. The amount of those checks in the scheme, which lasted from Sept. 13 to Nov. 22, 2011, totaled $44,716.

Riili also admitted that he stole credit cards from the mail and used some of them to make unauthorized purchases at businesses in the Springfield area.

According to court documents, Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers investigated a one-vehicle accident on Missouri Highway 76, near Indian Point Road in Stone County on Sept. 16, 2011. Riili’s vehicle had left the roadway and slid into the woods, where it struck a tree. Riili and a passenger were transported by ambulance.

A state trooper followed trails of blood from the vehicle into the woods. One of the blood trails led to a pile of leaves. The officer dug through the leaves and discovered an envelope full of checks that were made out to different businesses. The trooper also found a large trash bag that contained stolen mail from different areas throughout southwest Missouri.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robyn L. McKee. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

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