New York Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Participating in a Nationwide Bank Fraud Conspiracy

MOBILE, AL - A New York man was sentenced to 60 months in prison for participating in a nationwide bank fraud conspiracy involving stolen and counterfeited financial instruments.

According to court documents, Curtis Jackson, 31, of Staten Island, New York, admitted that, between February 2023 and June 2024, he conspired with LaEric Marques Williams-Beverly and other conspirators based in Mobile, Alabama, to commit mail theft and bank fraud involving stolen and counterfeited checks. The checks bore the personal identifying information of numerous identity theft victims. Jackson and Williams-Beverly administered an illicit Telegram channel called "House of Pain & Drank," where millions of dollars' worth of stolen financial instruments were posted for sale to other fraudsters.

In January 2024, agents obtained video footage from a Mobile business ("Business-1") showing Williams-Beverly stealing checks from the business's mailbox. Williams-Beverly then coordinated with other coconspirators to counterfeit the checks and fraudulently deposit them into a bank account. ATM surveillance footage captured Williams-Beverly making the fraudulent deposits. Later that month, police in New York City arrested Jackson in possession of a counterfeited check for $43,686.45, drawn on Business-1's bank account. Jackson had received the check from Williams-Beverly. Jackson's iCloud account also contained images of stolen and counterfeited checks, including a Citibank deposit slip for a $62,673.46 check drawn on Business-1's bank account.

In June 2024, federal agents executed a search warrant at Williams-Beverly's home in Mobile. Agents seized numerous pieces of stolen mail, counterfeited checks, debit and credit cards belonging to other individuals, counterfeiting tools, two pistols, and Williams-Beverly's cell phone. Williams-Beverly admitted to agents that he produced counterfeited checks and coordinated the purchase and sale of stolen checks through the fraudulent Telegram channel he operated with Jackson. Electronic evidence recovered from the conspirators' cell phones, iCloud accounts, and social media accounts demonstrated the extensive scope of the conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Jackson to serve 60 months in federal prison, emphasizing that he was a recidivist with several prior state arrests and convictions for theft, larceny, possession of forged instruments, possession of drugs, and bail jumping. In addition to the five-year prison term, Judge DuBose ordered Jackson to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will be subject to drug testing and credit restrictions. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge DuBose ordered Jackson to pay $13,041.52 in victim restitution jointly and severally with Williams-Beverly and other coconspirators, and $100 in special assessments.

Williams-Beverly was previously sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mobile Police Department, the Jackson Police Department, and the Clarke County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. The New York City Police Department substantially assisted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.