Serial fraudster sentenced to 70 months in federal prison

Date: Sept. 29, 2025

Contact: [email protected]

Wilmington, DL - U.S. Attorney Julianne E. Murray of the District of Delaware announced today that a Wilmington man was sentenced on September 18, 2025, to 70 months in prison for amassing over $900,000 in fraudulent proceeds through multiple fraud schemes over the course of years.

According to court documents, Crandall Speights drove around neighborhoods at night, rifled through mailboxes, and stole checks out of the mail. He then altered those checks and deposited them into bank accounts he controlled. From June 2019 - October 2021, he defrauded individuals and banks out of approximately $345,250 through this scheme.

At the same time, from June 2020 - April 2021, Speights submitted six fraudulent applications for loans available under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program-two COVID-19 relief programs designed to aid small business owners during the pandemic. Each loan claimed that Speights or an associate owned a small business they did not in fact own. Through this scheme, Speights defrauded the Small Business Administration out of approximately $559,999. Speights also moved these fraud proceeds between bank accounts he controlled in an effort to conceal their fraudulent nature.

A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Delaware returned an Indictment against Speights in September 2023. Speights was released on his own recognizance but was required to remain in the area and keep in contact with an assigned probation officer. Instead, Speights fled for approximately eight months, from May 2024 - January 2025. He was apprehended in an apartment in New Jersey, where law enforcement found additional checks, bank cards, and identifying information belonging to third parties. The checks found in Speights' apartment totaled $53,760.

Speights admitted to spending fraud proceeds gambling and purchasing luxury goods. Law enforcement seized over 40 pieces of jewelry from Speights' home with a total appraised value of approximately $477,705, including an 18-karat gold, diamond, and sapphire ring valued at $75,000 and a 1-karat gold bracelet valued at $102,900. Law enforcement also seized 11 fur coats, shawls, and hats from Speights' apartment with a total appraised value of approximately $56,250.

Julianne Murray, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, stated, "Fraudsters do real damage to our community, by altering checks found in the mail, diverting taxpayer funds, and looting government programs. We will work hard to ensure that wrongdoers are brought to justice, and that no one may divert people's hard-earned money for their own personal gain."

Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation stated, "This is an important victory for the American public. Not only is a criminal going to jail for his crimes, but the government has seized a significant portion of the illegal proceeds through asset forfeiture. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and investigate criminals who engage in such brazen and fraudulent conduct.

"Protecting the mail from theft is a core mission of the Postal Inspection Service," said Christopher Nielsen, Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division. "By perpetrating mail theft, Mr. Speights harmed real people who were using the mail to pay their bills. By filing false claims on government benefit programs, Mr. Speights deprived others of needed assistance. I want to recognize the hard work of the Inspectors and the Special Agents from the IRS who worked this investigation. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of the United States Attorney's Office in Delaware for their continued support in investigating and prosecuting these cases."

The IRS-Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly A. Hudson prosecuted the case.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.