Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller stated today that a woman from Bremerton, Washington, was arraigned in Tacoma on a 14-count indictment charging conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Heather Marquis, 36, pleaded ‘not guilty’ on all counts. Marquis is still held at the Federal Detention Centre in SeaTac. Emily Vranic, 33, Marquis’ co-defendant, was arraigned and released to her parents’ custody last week. The trial is planned for June 16, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright.
“With an estimated 278 victims, these defendants left a broad swath of damage across Kitsap and Mason Counties,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “The Bremerton Police Department and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office did important work with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to identify victims and trace the financial harm they suffered in this case.”
According to court documents, between April 2019 and November 2024, Vranic and Marquis stole identities in a variety of methods. Typically, they would steal victims’ mail and use the personal documents within to activate credit cards, establish new lines of credit, or acquire wholesale access to online bank accounts. The couple would have documentation about their operations mailed to a third-party victim’s address, which they would intercept once more. Statements and other information were shipped directly to their Bremerton address after they had completely assumed control of a stolen identity.
Armed with their victims’ identities, the pair racked up credit card debt, transferred funds from victim accounts to their own, and even exploited victim accounts to make monthly mortgage payments. In one instance, the two attempted to transfer $35,000 from a susceptible victim’s account after successfully transferring nearly $33,000 from the same account. When the transfer was refused, they continually called the bank, pretending as the account holder, to have the fraud alert lifted.
The projected loss from their financial scam is $620,000.
“The U.S. Mail remains one of the most trusted forms of commerce and communication in this country. Working to protect the mail system and the citizens it serves from those who wish to harm others while enriching themselves remains our steadfast mission,” said Tony Galetti, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The allegations made against Vranic and Marquis are staggering. The process to undo the harm done to members of our community, not just financially but emotionally, can be agonizing. From fixing bank accounts to rebuilding credit reports, the harm lasts far longer than the initial crime. I thank Bremerton PD and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office for the assistance in this case; partnerships across all levels of law enforcement are what bring these kinds of results.”
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in jail. Wire fraud is punishable by up to twenty years in jail. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a minimum of two years in prison for each offence, in addition to any other sentence given in the case.
The charges listed in the indictment are simply allegations. A person is deemed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The Bremerton Police Department, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are all investigating the case.
