Wisconsin man sentenced to 18 months in prison for passing forged postal notes

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A Wisconsin man was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for passing forged postal notes, announced Gregory J. Haanstad, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.  

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Robert James Zoellner, 52, of Ripon, Wisconsin, was sentenced Oct. 22 by Chief U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach. Zoellner previously pleaded guilty to a single count of passing forged postal notes.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, Zoellner acted as a middle man for a West African counterfeiter and utilized “mystery shopper” advertisements in newspapers and magazines to recruit unknowing individuals to cash hundreds of thousands of dollars in counterfeit postal notes and money orders. The individuals subsequently forwarded the proceeds to Zoellner, who would in turn wire the proceeds to his contact in Mali, West Africa. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Zoellner was ordered to serve three years of supervised release.

In sentencing the defendant, Chief Judge Griesbach noted the serious nature of the offense, the defendant’s prior criminal record, as well as the need to deter others in the community from engaging in similar fraudulent behavior.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Humble, Eastern District of Wisconsin, prosecuted the case.