LOS ANGELES — A member of a South Los Angeles-based Crips street gang was sentenced Thursday to nine years in federal prison for participating in a $2.8 million bank fraud conspiracy, officials announced Thursday.
The bank fraud relied on stolen mail, counterfeit checks, and Instagram to recruit victims willing to provide access to their bank accounts.
Quick Facts
- Defendant: Chase Matthew Griffin, 26, also known as “Trey”
- Residence: Atlanta; also lived in Ontario and South Los Angeles
- Sentence: 108 months (9 years) in federal prison
- Restitution: $307,386
- Charge: Conspiracy to commit bank fraud
- Loss amount: Approximately $2.8 million
- Scheme operated: 2022 through September 2025
- Investigating agency: U.S. Postal Inspection Service
According to court documents, Chase Matthew Griffin pleaded guilty on March 5 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He has remained in federal custody since September 2025.
U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton imposed the sentence and ordered Griffin to pay $307,386 in restitution.
Federal prosecutors said Griffin participated in a scheme that stole checks from the U.S. mail, altered the original payee information or created counterfeit versions, then deposited the fraudulent checks into bank accounts controlled by recruited accomplices.
Authorities said Griffin used Instagram to advertise for bank account holders willing to provide access to their accounts. His social media posts frequently showed him holding large stacks of cash while soliciting participants.
Once recruits agreed, Griffin and his co-conspirators deposited fraudulent checks—often worth tens of thousands of dollars—into those accounts and withdrew the money before financial institutions could detect the fraud.
One example cited by prosecutors involved a North Hollywood business that mailed three checks totaling approximately $84,490 through a U.S. Postal Service collection box in Tarzana in December 2023.
The checks were stolen, altered, and deposited into JPMorgan Chase accounts belonging to individuals other than the intended recipients.
Investigators later found that one of the accounts had previously received another fraudulent deposit of approximately $22,487 at an ATM in Upland.
Authorities determined that multiple counterfeit checks duplicated the originals’ dates, check numbers, and amounts while changing only the listed payees.
According to prosecutors, the stolen proceeds were rapidly spent through ATM withdrawals, Zelle transfers, Cash App payments, airline ticket purchases, and transactions at a San Bernardino County casino before investigators traced the activity to Griffin.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.