February 24, 09

NEWS / LEADER IN SCHEME TO STEAL ATMs SENTENCED TO 70 MONTHS IN PRISON

hefts and Attempted Thefts of 23 ATMs Over a Three Year Period in Five States Result in Loss of $1,040,123




Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Tracy Delong Fletcher, age 32, of Bowie, Maryland, today to 70 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for bank larceny in connection with stealing Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and their contents, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Blake ordered Fletcher to forfeit $1,040,123, and ordered him to repay $1,023,714 in restitution.

According to his plea agreement, from 2003 to 2006, Fletcher and others stole or attempted to steal 23 ATM machines and their contents from banks, service stations and convenience stores located in Bowie, Laurel, Crofton, Crownsville, Upper Marlboro, West Friendship, and Frederick, Maryland; Fredericksburg, Woodbridge and Fairfax Park, Virginia; and in Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida.

Along with the approximate cost of replacing the ATMs that were stolen or attempted to be stolen, the total amount of loss attributed to Fletcher is $1,040,123.

David Brandford, age 45, of Bowie, Maryland, was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit bank larceny and aiding and abetting bank larceny, and sentenced to 70 months in prison. Brandford owned a car shop in Bowie where some of the stolen ATMs were taken and cut open. Five other defendants have pleaded guilty to their participation in one or more ATM thefts.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work, and commended Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Leotta and Cheryl Crumpton, who prosecuted the case.