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The Los Angeles County man has been sentenced to almost five years in prison for his role in a scheme that involves building and depositing fraudulent mail orders of more than $1.2 million.
Stalin Lee Smith Jr., 49, of Lancaster, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and was released under supervision for three years. He was also ordered to pay more than $432,000 in reparations.
From July 2013 to February 2019, Smith and several accomplices changed the money order they purchased at US post offices in California and Nevada, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and inflated their value before placing them in a bank account in someone else’s name.
The group then withdraws funds before the bank detected counterfeiting, officials said.
In total, Smith and his co-conspirators either deposited or tried to deposit more than 1,200 forged money orders. Smith ultimately pleaded guilty to two bank fraud against each bank he had scam.
“This case underscores the importance of investigating and prosecuting financial fraud targeting banking institutions and the public,” said Nevada District Attorney Su Fahami.
The case was investigated by the US Postal Service, the official law enforcement agency of the Post Office.
Anyone who suspects email scams is encouraged to report them by calling the USPS scam complaint hotline at 1-800-372-8347 or by visiting www.usps.com/postalinspectors.
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