New York Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Check Fraud Scheme

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Brian S. Castillo, 25, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced on February 13, 2026, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud based on his role in a check fraud scheme affecting thousands of victims and causing more $1.8 million in losses. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Castillo to 10 years' imprisonment for each count to be served concurrently. Chief Judge Rossiter ordered Castillo to pay restitution in the amount of $1,852,532.98. After Castillo is released from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.

Between on or about January 3, 2023, and July 30, 2024, Castillo executed a scheme in which co-conspirators obtained legitimate checks-often by theft and unlawful means-and provided them to Castillo, who "cooked" the checks to create counterfeit and fraudulent checks payable to co-conspirators. By altering information on the checks, including the payee and check amount, individuals were able to cash the fake checks. Castillo mailed the cooked checks to co-conspirators using the United States Postal Service or he sent them as PDFs. To perpetrate the scheme, Castillo communicated via Telegram-an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform-with co-conspirators, including one in Nebraska. Castillo received more than $800,000 in Bitcoin for his role in the scheme.

The sentencing hearing highlighted the significant scope of the conspiracy. As part of an August 2024 search warrant for Castillo's New York residence, law enforcement obtained Castillo's cell phone. Forensics revealed approximately 30,000 PDFs of checks on Castillo's cell phone that had been altered and/or counterfeited. The total amount of the checks was approximately $496 million. Law enforcement located at least 5,000 individuals and businesses who were potentially victims of the scheme. In imposing the sentence, Chief Judge Rossiter. recognized that Castillo "played a big role" in the scheme and that he had seen "nothing to this level" before.

"The United States Postal Inspection Service is to be commended for the exceptional investigative effort that led to this just result. The sentence fairly and justly adjudged in this case is an accurate reflection of the financial harm that resulted from this deliberate and insidious scheme that harmed thousands of innocent victims," said U.S. Attorney Woods.

"One of the missions of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is to safeguard the U.S. Mail from criminals. Mr. Castillo executed a sophisticated check fraud scheme that resulted in almost two million dollars in losses from victims across the country. Last week's sentencing shows the commitment of postal inspectors to aggressively investigate and pursue individuals who exploit the nation's mail system for their criminal activities and to safeguard the U.S. Mail," said Bryan Musgrove, Inspector in Charge of the Denver Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.