Buffalo man sentenced for defrauding hundreds of victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Nicholas Janes, 40, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted of mail fraud, was sentenced to serve five years' probation by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

In May 2023, law enforcement learned of many suspicious United States Postal Service Express Mail overnight flat-rate envelopes being mailed to the defendant's address in Buffalo. The envelopes were addressed to variations of Janes's name, or what appeared to be different law offices. Most of the address labels were hand-written, and the envelopes were mailed by individuals residing throughout the United States. A search of Janes's address in various consumer complaint databases revealed a pattern of alleged debt collection fraud victims from throughout the United States. The names "Nicholas Janes," "Nicholas James," "The Nichols Law Group," "The Nicholas Law Group," and variations of the business name, The Offices of Pachulski, Mueller and Barnes (Muler, Muller, Burns, etc.) were consistently associated with Janes's address. The defendant also controlled business mailboxes in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he received mail as a result of the fraudulent scheme. That mail was then forwarded to his residence in Buffalo.

As part of his fraudulent scheme, Janes contacted various individuals from around the country by telephone, advising them that they had a debt due on an alleged unpaid loan. He claimed that he was a local sheriff's deputy, and would threaten the victims with criminal charges, if they did not immediately repay the alleged debt owed. Janes also pretended to be an attorney at fictitious law firms, so victims thought they were negotiating with a legitimate entity. He advised victims to make payment by USPS money orders payable to him, and send them via USPS, Federal Express or United Parcel Service overnight service to various addresses that he controlled and monitored the mail.

In total, Janes victimized more than 500 people for $420,812.92.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Justin Page, Boston Division.

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