The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office arrested 34-year-old Michele Wilcox of Sedona for allegedly defrauding several Yavapai County residents out of more than 30-thousand dollars.
His arrest concludes a three-month investigation into Wilcox who was suspected of stealing checks out of mailboxes, altering the checks and depositing them into his accounts. The first case happened in February when the suspect stole a check from a victim in Sedona. Then, another victim reached out to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office to report their mail had been stolen. Detectives learned a check was also taken, altered and deposited into the suspect’s account in this case.
Since February, a YCSO detective has linked Wilcox to at least three cases and is still actively investigating if there are more victims out there.
“Our detective did a fantastic job linking these cases together and identifying a suspect. The investigation has revealed that Mr. Wilcox has been committing these types of crimes for years and we are glad he is behind bars,” said Sheriff David Rhodes, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
Wilcox is currently in custody and charged with 2 counts of Fraud Schemes, 5 counts of theft, 6 counts of forgery, and 3 counts of Aggravated Identity Theft.
YCSO believes there are more victims out there and urge anyone who believes they were victimized to call the Sheriff’s Office at 928-771-3260 or Yavapai Silent Witness at 1-800-932-3232.