Missouri – According to criminal filings filed in federal court in Missouri, an Illinois man has confessed to running a multistate bank fraud conspiracy that included stolen mail, fraudulent IDs, and unauthorized bank accounts.
Terry Carter-Kilgore, 28, pled guilty to one count of bank fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Prosecutors stated the scheme lasted from late 2022 until the summer of 2024 and entailed stealing checks from the U.S. Mail and putting them into accounts that were formed under false pretenses.
Investigators said how Carter-Kilgore used fake driver’s licenses with his picture on them but the personal information of other people to open bank accounts in Missouri and other states. The DOJ also said that he also made fake business papers to make the accounts look real. He picked account names that matched the identities of the people who were supposed to get the stolen checks. This way, he could deposit or try to deposit the money without raising too many concerns right away.
Carter-Kilgore deposited or tried to deposit at least six stolen checks worth a total of $214,935 during the course of the conspiracy. One of the earlier events happened on December 21, 2022, when he successfully cashed a stolen check for $36,373 at a bank in Florissant, Missouri. Authorities said he used a fake driver’s license to finish the transaction.
On August 20, 2024, more than a year later, the case reached a turning point. Carter-Kilgore opened an unauthorized account at a bank in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, on that day and tried to deposit another stolen check. This time, he utilized a fake Georgia driver’s license. Bank workers got suspicious and called the Lee’s Summit Police Department.
Carter-Kilgore ran away on foot when police got to the bank. Later, police caught him hiding under the deck of a house nearby. He confessed to trying to cash a stolen check with a fake driver’s license after being arrested. He also told the police that he had bought the false ID and the stolen check in Chicago.
Carter-Kilgore is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2026. Under federal law, a conviction for bank fraud carries a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Lee’s Summit Police Department all took part in the investigation.
