PORT TOWNSEND — A Jefferson County man arrested with more than 1,000 pounds of stolen mail now is in federal custody, awaiting possible indictment on charges of bank fraud, possession of stolen mail and aggravated identity theft.
Adam Justin Lysiak, 38, of Port Townsend is being held in the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, where he was taken June 10 from the Jefferson County jail that had held him since his Feb. 12 arrest.
Prosecutors have until 30 days after an initial appearance to issue an indictment, said Thomas Bates, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle.
A trial date will be set at the time of the indictment, Bates said.
Lysiak is scheduled to appear in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Strombom.
He was charged in Jefferson County with 12 counts of stolen property and held on $250,000 bail.
After his transfer to SeaTac, the county charges were dropped in favor of the federal charges, said Port Townsend Police Officer Luke Bogues.
At the time of his arrest, Lysiak was wanted by the Department of Corrections, which said he had escaped from community custody in Federal Way.
He originally was convicted in King County on charges of identity theft, possession of stolen property and possession of fraudulent bank checks. He was put in community custody last September after being released from prison.
He absconded from his probation officer late last year and was later found hiding in a Port Hadlock home, authorities said.
Lysiak also was wanted by Kent Municipal Court for three counts of possession of stolen property, Federal Way Municipal Court for forgery and attempted theft, and Fife Municipal Court for a criminal traffic charge.
The federal complaint, written by Secret Service Special Agent Brian Molnar, says that Lysiak began living with a teenager and her mother, with whom he had a son, a few months before his February arrest.
According to the girl — unidentified because of age — Lysiak stole mail from a mailbox in her presence, then recruited her mother to routinely steal from mailboxes in Jefferson and Kitsap counties.
According to the complaint, the mail had been thrown out only once since the thefts began, to hide the activity from the girl’s grandmother, who was visiting.
The girl stated that Lysiak used a laptop, printer, nail file, razor and special paper to create fake identifications based on the identities of the mail-theft victims.
The fake IDs were then used at Walmart in Poulsbo to cash checks or purchase goods with stolen bank cards, the complaint says.
Lysiak expanded his operation to Silverdale, where he targeted Macy’s and stores such as Henery’s Hardware in Port Townsend, police said.
Three laptops were in Lysiak’s possession at the time of his arrest.
A search of the computers found evidence of bank fraud and identity theft, including pictures of driver’s licenses using different names but with Lysiak’s picture.
Port Townsend police spent several weeks after Lysiak’s arrest sorting the confiscated mail and contacting the victims.
Bogues said the inventory of mail found in Lysiak’s home found that the largest number of victims — 696 — were Kitsap County residents.
A total of 499 were from Jefferson County, with 346 from Port Townsend.
Three victims were identified in Clallam County, all in Sequim.
Mail also was found from the counties of King, Pierce, Thurston, Skagit, Mason, Snohomish, Clark and Chelan counties.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
