Mount Laurel Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Mail Theft and Bank Fraud Conspiracy

Prosecutors say scheme caused more than $424,000 in losses and involved stolen mail, altered checks, and fraudulent debit cards across South Jersey.

A Mount Laurel man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a wide-ranging bank fraud conspiracy that involved stealing checks from U.S. mailboxes, altering or counterfeiting those checks, and using fraudulent debit cards to withdraw funds before banks detected the fraud.

Kharon Parson-Wright, 28, of Mount Laurel, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to an announcement from Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello.

Court documents and statements made during the plea hearing describe a scheme in which Parson-Wright conspired with Yasmene Johnson, Dante Ford, and others to steal checks from blue U.S. Postal Service collection boxes. Prosecutors said members of the conspiracy altered the stolen checks by increasing their dollar amounts and changing the payee names to either co-conspirators or individuals recruited to help cash the checks.

Parson-Wright admitted that he and others negotiated the altered or counterfeit checks at banks throughout southern New Jersey and other locations, attempting to withdraw funds before the banks discovered the checks were fraudulent. Some of the checks involved in the scheme were written for tens of thousands of dollars, according to federal authorities.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy also involved a separate identity theft component. Parson-Wright admitted that he connected Johnson with a bank employee who issued fraudulent debit cards in the names of unsuspecting account holders. One of those debit cards was later used to make purchases and ATM withdrawals in New Jersey.

Federal authorities stated that the bank fraud conspiracy resulted in actual losses exceeding $424,000, with intended losses totaling more than $1.5 million.

Under federal law, the bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, or twice the financial loss or gain connected to the offense. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment, along with a potential fine of up to $250,000. Parson-Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20, 2026.

Johnson has previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2026. Ford and three additional co-defendants were sentenced in 2025 after pleading guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Ford received a 27-month prison sentence, while Donovan Bunch was sentenced to 33 months. Tracy Felder-Carter and Quamell Keyes-Griffin were each sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Senior Counsel Lamparello credited the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia Division, under Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, for leading the investigation. He also acknowledged assistance from the Mount Laurel Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Hudnall.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.