A federal case out of California details how a man used stolen mail, altered checks and Instagram recruiting to funnel roughly $2.8 million through accomplice bank accounts, leading to a lengthy prison sentence and ordered restitution.
Federal authorities sentenced Chase Matthew Griffin to 108 months in prison after prosecutors tied him to a $2.8 million check-fraud scheme that exploited mail theft and social media recruitment. The scheme relied on stolen or counterfeit checks that were retooled to name accomplices as payees, then quickly cashed or moved before banks could flag the transactions. Judge Josephine L. Staton also ordered Griffin to pay $307,386 in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.
Griffin, 26, who used the nickname “Trey,” lived in Atlanta, Ontario and South Los Angeles at various times, and he pleaded guilty on March 5 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Prosecutors say he has been held in federal custody since September 2025 while the case proceeded toward sentencing. Court filings outline a multi-year pattern of activity running from 2022 to September 2025 that drew the attention of federal investigators.
According to charging documents, Griffin and co-conspirators obtained checks stolen from the mail and then altered or recreated them so the checks appeared legitimate but listed different payees. The group deposited those altered checks into bank accounts controlled by recruited accomplices, often accounts belonging to people who had been persuaded online to allow access. Deposits were typically for tens of thousands of dollars and were moved out immediately to avoid detection.
Investigators say Griffin actively recruited accomplices on Instagram, posting photos showing large stacks of currency and advertising for people willing to let him access their bank accounts. Those recruited account holders would receive the altered or counterfeit checks deposited into their accounts, after which Griffin and others rushed to withdraw funds through ATMs, peer-to-peer apps or card transactions. That rapid movement of money was central to the scheme’s short window before banks could identify suspicious activity.
One documented incident from December 2023 illustrates the method investigators traced back to Griffin. A North Hollywood business reported that three checks totaling approximately $84,490, mailed from a USPS collection box in Tarzana, were stolen and later deposited into JPMorgan Chase accounts not belonging to the intended payees. Bank records showed at least one related deposit of about $22,487 made at an ATM in Upland, and a separate check for approximately $29,081 had been converted into a counterfeit version listing a different payee.
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After the fraudulent deposits hit compromised accounts, money was quickly siphoned through a variety of channels, investigators said. Withdrawals and transfers included ATM cashouts, Zelle and CashApp payments, a plane ticket purchase and card transactions at a casino in San Bernardino County. Those spending choices left digital and financial traces that law enforcement used to map the flow of funds and link transactions to Griffin and his network.
The United States Postal Inspection Service led the federal probe into the stolen mail and altered checks, working with the Upland Police Department to piece together the pattern of thefts and deposits. That partnership produced the evidence federal prosecutors used to secure the guilty plea and, ultimately, the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section handled prosecution of the case in federal court.
Sentencing focused not only on the dollar amounts moved but also on the organized nature of the operation and its reliance on recruited participants to launder proceeds. Prosecutors emphasized the repeated use of mail theft as the source of negotiable instruments, and the coordinated effort to recreate or alter checks to match original dates and numbers while changing payees. The court found the conduct supported a substantial custodial term and the restitution order tied to identifiable losses.
The case highlights continuing vulnerabilities in the postal system and the ways bad actors use social media to recruit people for financial schemes. Banks and law enforcement continue to push controls and investigative tools to detect altered or counterfeit checks, but successful prosecutions depend on following transaction trails and cooperation between agencies. Griffin’s sentence and restitution order close one chapter of the investigation and reflect federal efforts to deter similar multimillion-dollar conspiracies.
