Missouri Men Accused of Recruiting Homeless to Cash $3,400,000 in Stolen Treasury Checks

Two Missouri men are accused of recruiting homeless people to cash about $3.4 million in Treasury checks stolen from the mail.

Samuel Stewart, 27, of St. Louis and Royce Finger, 22, of Maryland Heights face conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, possession of stolen mail, aggravated identity theft and forging endorsements on Treasury checks, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Prosecutors say eight people were charged in a scheme that ran from November of 2024 through January of 2026, with checks taken from mail in Florida, Minnesota, California and Tennessee.

Stewart and Finger allegedly housed and clothed recruits, supplied fake driver’s licenses and passports, coached them on what to tell bank tellers and used fake utility bills to open accounts.

One recruit, David Sims, 68, allegedly deposited a stolen Treasury check for $937,809. Prosecutors say the group then withdrew about $597,890.

On July 21st of 2025, Stewart and Finger allegedly gave Sims a fake passport and another stolen check for $669,185. Sims later withdrew $6,500, according to the indictment.

Six other defendants were also charged. All eight have pleaded not guilty.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the case.

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