Byron Woman Pleads Guilty in Check-Washing Scheme, Faces 30 Years
MACON, Georgia – A 24-year-old Byron woman faces up to 30 years in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to altering stolen checks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and offering them for sale on social media.
Mikela Kendrick pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud before U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on October 29. The court has not set a sentencing date.
Penalties
Kendrick faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that the federal system has no parole.
How the scheme worked
According to court documents and statements in court, Kendrick and another person obtained numerous checks stolen from the mail between August 2024 and September 2025. They then “washed” the checks, a process that removes and changes details such as the payee’s name and the dollar amount.
Kendrick advertised the stolen and altered checks through her social media account. In one exchange with a prospective buyer, she said she typically sold checks in bundles and offered three for $600. Each check had a face value of at least $10,000.
Images of stolen checks on her account showed she had possessed checks totaling at least $299,789.57.
Search turned up 112 checks
Law enforcement served a search warrant at Kendrick’s home on September 4, 2025. They recovered 112 stolen personal and business checks, money orders and cashier’s checks.
Investigators also found blank check stock, bank cards, and identification cards bearing different names. Officers seized items commonly used in check-washing schemes, including ink cartridges, ink-stained cotton swabs, antifreeze, water-removal products, printers and computer devices.
The 112 checks had a total face value of $395,101.43. Individual checks ranged from $5 to $155,408.81. They belonged to various payees and drew on accounts at federally insured and chartered financial institutions.
Over about three weeks in August 2025, at least four stolen and altered checks of $1,000 each went into Kendrick’s checking account. A $17,550 check that Kendrick had stolen and altered also went into the account.
Officials respond
“This case marks the second federal prosecution by our office in just a matter of days involving defendants accused of stealing checks from the mail and exploiting hardworking citizens and small businesses for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “Our office remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who prey on the public.”
“This case demonstrates our dedication to safeguarding the integrity of the nation’s mail system. Our collaboration with our law enforcement partners to combat mail theft serves as a force multiplier in conducting these types of investigations,” said Jonathan Ulrich, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “If you abuse the Postal Service and exploit the public’s trust for personal gain then you will be held accountable.”
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Warner Robins Police Department investigated the case, with help from the Centerville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Howard is prosecuting it.
Mail theft has also drawn attention locally in recent days, when a Macon USPS mail carrier was arrested on four theft charges after a separate investigation.
