CAMDEN, N.J. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - New Jersey), published as received.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County man admitted to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon and to conspiring with others to negotiate checks that had been stolen from the mail, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Donovan Bunch, 23, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel to a two-count information charging him with one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Donovan Bunch, Tracy Felder-Carter, Dante Ford, and Quamell Keyes-Griffin conspired to commit bank fraud by first obtaining checks that had been stolen from the U.S. mail. Bunch and other members of the conspiracy then would create counterfeit checks or alter the stolen checks by increasing the value of the check and changing the name of the payee to either a member of the conspiracy or somebody else recruited by the conspiracy. Bunch admitted that he and others would negotiate each counterfeit or altered check and then attempt to the withdraw the funds before the bank learned that the checks were illegitimate. The conspiracy involved the negotiation of checks at banks across southern New Jersey and elsewhere, with each check written for amounts upwards of several thousand dollars.

As part of the investigation, in July 2023, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at Bunch’s residence and in his car.  Officers recovered from Bunch’s car a stolen Glock pistol with a 31-round magazine that was loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition.  At the time he possessed the stolen firearm and ammunition found in his car, Bunch was on probation as a result of a prior New Jersey felony conviction.

The count of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  The count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.  Sentencing is scheduled for August 18, 2025.

Felder-Carter, Ford, and Keyes-Griffin each previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the same bank fraud conspiracy to which Bunch pleaded guilty. Their sentencings are upcoming before Judge Kiel.   

U.S. Attorney Habba credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, with the investigation leading to this plea.  She also thanked the Pennsylvania State Police – Media Station, Pennsauken Police Department, and the Springfield Township (Pennsylvania) Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

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Defense counsel:

Bunch: Martin Isenberg, Esq. (Gibbsboro, New Jersey)

Felder-Carter: Michael Kahn, Esq. (Haddonfield, New Jersey)

Ford: Margaret M. Grasso, Esq. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Keyes-Griffin: John B. Brennan, Esq. (Marlton, New Jersey)