Isaiah Fredericks, 19, of Kent was arrested after Detective Ray Beauchesne received a call from a Lake Carmel resident on June 8 who reported several checks had been taken from his mailbox and cashed at a local bank, said Kent Police Alex DiVernieri.
Working with the District Attorney's Office, and the bank's financial investigations, Beauchesne obtained a subpoena for the account that the checks were deposited into, police said.
When the information was returned, Fredericks was developed as a suspect, police said.
The investigation showed there were additional victims who did not even realize they had been victims. In all, there were 20 victims from Kent, Putnam Valley, Carmel, Poughkeepsie, and LaGrange, police said.
According to Beauchesne, Fredericks would drive around and look for mailboxes with the flags up showing there was outgoing mail. He would then steal checks made out to various businesses and deposit them into his own account through the ATM machine unsigned.
The detective was able to work with law enforcement in each jurisdiction in the investigation of the crimes.
Fredericks was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court on July 20.
To follow @DVDutchess, Daily Voice Dutchess on Twitter, click here.
To follow @PutnamDV, Putnam Daily Voice on Twitter, click here.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Putnam and receive free news updates.