A Mount Pleasant man was being held at the Rowan County Jail this week after a mail fraud investigation in Cabarrus and Rowan counties.
Warrants have been issued in Rowan County against Walter Darnell Austin, 45, of Brackenberry Circle, Mount Pleasant, with charges of felony identity theft, felony identity theft trafficking, and felony obtaining property by false pretenses, according to a press release.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after they received information on Monday from a concerned neighbor about packages being delivered to an abandoned home on Millbridge Road, near China Grove, the press release states. The packages were being brought by a commercial delivery service, officials said.
Investigators from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and the China Grove Police Department began surveillance at the residence and discovered two packages had been delivered to the residence, according to the news release.
After a short time a suspect in a Windstream service van arrived and grabbed the packages, running back to the van to leave. Investigators made a vehicle stop of the Windstream to see why packages were being delivered to an abandoned home, the press release states.
Investigators say a suspect used a Windstream account to open old files with customers and set up fraudulent accounts with several online retail companies. Merchandise was ordered from these sites and delivered to unoccupied home in Rowan County. Investigators identified a second abandoned home in Cabarrus County that was also used, officials said.
Investigators recovered thousands of dollars in fraudulently obtained merchandise from an office in Kannapolis, according to the press release. The crimes are believed to have been occurring for the past year. Windstream officials are working with law enforcement to assist in identifying any customers who might be victims.
Anyone with any information on this investigation can call the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office for Lt. Chad Moose at 704-216-8687 or Det. Carl Dangerfield at 704-216-8711. Cabarrus County residents with any information on this crime should call the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation division at 704-920-3057.
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