According to court documents, between February and August 2018, Tinay participated in a scheme to defraud banks in which she and others used counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys to break into residential mailboxes throughout the Eastern and Northern Districts of California. Tinay stole mail from mailboxes which contained bankcards, personal and business checks, and government-issued IDs. Tinay then fraudulently activated and used the bankcards to withdraw cash at ATMs and make purchases at retail establishments. In one instance, on Feb. 25, 2018, Tinay fraudulently used a stolen Comenity Bank-issued Victorias Secret credit card, to purchase $821.85 in goods at a Victorias Secret store in Fairfield. On Aug. 29, 2018, when she was arrested in Granite Bay, she and her companions were found to be in possession of four U.S. Postal Service keys with the intention of using them to steal U.S. mail.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Artuz is prosecuting the case.
Tinay is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on June 4, 2019. Tinay faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud. She faces a mandatory statutory term of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and a fine up to $250,000, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of reproduced U.S. Postal Service keys. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
-- Eastern District of California
Source: U.S. Secret Service