FOX VALLEY, Wis. (WBAY) — A Chicago man accused of participating in an extensive multi-jurisdictional mail theft and check-fraud operation across Northeast Wisconsin entered a plea of not guilty on Thursday.
Prosecutors allege Derrell J. Edwards was part of a cross-state ring that stole and fraudulently cashed checks from Fox Valley businesses and local government entities between late 2022 and early 2023.
The investigation began in December 2022 after the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office received multiple reports of overnight, weekend mail thefts from businesses in the Village of Greenville industrial park. In that park alone, the total amount of stolen checks surpassed $500,000. Investigators said stolen checks were altered, duplicated, and deposited through ATMs or mobile banking across the country…