FORT MYERS, Fla. – A former Cape Coral resident accused of filing more than 2,200 fraudulent indemnity claims to the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been found guilty of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Last week, United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury found Devin Ryan Maresca, 33, of Newcastle, Pa., guilty of 10 counts of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Maresca faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud count and a minimum of two years in federal prison on the aggravated identity theft count. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Maresca was indicted on November 2, 2022.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, while living in Cape Coral, Maresca filed more than 2,200 fraudulent indemnity claims to the United States Postal Service (USPS), claiming that Priority Mail packages he had mailed or received were damaged. Maresca fraudulently used his mother, father, and brother’s names to submit most of the claims.
Further, according to testimony and evidence, Maresca forged his family members’ signatures on the backs of USPS claims checks to deposit them into a bank account he controlled. The checks were mailed to mailboxes that Maresca had set up at UPS and Pak-Mail locations in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Punta Gorda.
Maresca’s fraud scheme caused the USPS to issue more than $100,000 in claims checks. IP address, bank, email records, and USPS data linked Maresca to the fraudulent claims.
In December 2021, a United States Postal Inspector and USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) Special Agent interviewed Maresca at his home in Newcastle, Pa. During the interview, Maresca reportedly admitted to submitting more than 2,200 fraudulent claims and forging his family members’ signatures on USPS indemnity checks.
The United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Reichling and Patrick Darcey are prosecuting it.
