Carl James Breneman appears in Outagamie County court, March 11, 2025. (Image courtesy of Outagamie County court/Zoom)
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Three years after two suspects were arrested for allegedly stealing hundreds of pieces of mail, one of the suspects is still waiting for a trial date to be set.
Carl James Breneman, 39, has pleaded not guilty to 47 charges, including 27 counts of misappropriating identification information to obtain money, and 10 counts of theft of mail.
Breneman was charged in May 2024. Earlier this year, his attorney left the case. Because the state Public Defender’s Office hasn’t found a new attorney for him, another status conference on April 16 was scheduled during a hearing Tuesday.
The co-defendant in the case, Danika Viasana, was sentenced to more than two years in prison for her role in the scheme.
According to the criminal complaint, several police agencies across the valley investigated thefts of mail, forgeries, and bank frauds from the fall of 2021 into the spring of 2022. Investigators found about 500 pieces of mail from more than 200 homes and businesses.
The two allegedly took the checks, and then cashed them, or used the information to open new bank accounts or apply for credit cards. The complaint identifies 15 victims as examples of the allegations against Breneman.
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