Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Depositing Counterfeit Treasury Check and Theft of Government Money

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to depositing an altered U.S. Treasury check and stealing government money, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

Andre Pitts, 21, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge David S. Cercone to one count of uttering counterfeit obligations or securities and one count of theft of government property.

In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on June 12, 2023, Pitts deposited an altered version of a U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $62,211. The check had been issued in February 2023 to another individual related to that person's income tax return, with the memo line of the check identifying both the individual and tax year of 2021. The payee information and memo line of the deposited check had been altered to identify Pitts, his residence, and a tax year of 2022. Following his deposit of the altered check, Pitts quickly made several transactions, including withdrawing $500 in cash and having a $25,000 cashier's check issued to himself.

Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for August 13, 2026. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison on the uttering counterfeit obligations or securities count and up to 10 years of prison on the theft of government property count, a fine of up to $250,000 at each offense, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Pitts.