Staten Island Man Gets 5 Years in Mobile Bank Fraud Scheme Tied to Telegram Check Marketplace

MOBILE, Ala. — A Staten Island man who helped run an online marketplace for stolen checks has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a Mobile bank fraud scheme that reached victims across the country.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice news release, Curtis Jackson, 31, of Staten Island, New York, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for participating in a nationwide bank fraud conspiracy involving stolen and counterfeited financial instruments. The case was prosecuted in federal court in Mobile.

A Conspiracy Stretching From Mobile to New York

Court documents show Jackson admitted that from February 2023 to June 2024, he conspired with LaEric Marques Williams-Beverly and other co-conspirators in Mobile to commit mail theft and bank fraud using stolen and counterfeited checks.

Based on the personal information found on the checks, the scheme involved multiple victims.

Prosecutors said the two men operated a channel on the messaging app Telegram that served as a marketplace for stolen financial documents.

“Jackson and Williams-Beverly administered an illicit Telegram channel called ‘House of Pain & Drank,’ where millions of dollars’ worth of stolen financial instruments were posted for sale to other fraudsters,” the release said.

How Investigators Built the Case

According to court documents, the investigation produced a trail of evidence connecting a Mobile business’s stolen mail to New York.

In January 2024, agents reviewed video footage from a Mobile business that showed Williams-Beverly removing checks from the business’s mailbox. He then worked with other co-conspirators to counterfeit those checks and fraudulently deposit them into a bank account. ATM footage showed Williams-Beverly making the fraudulent deposits, according to the court documents.

Later that same month, police in New York City arrested Jackson. He was found to be carrying a counterfeited check for $43,686.45 drawn on the Mobile business’s account. Jackson had obtained that check from Williams-Beverly, according to court documents.

Investigators also found images of stolen and counterfeited checks in Jackson’s iCloud account. Among them was a Citibank deposit slip for $62,673.46, also drawn on the same Mobile business’s account.

In June 2024, agents executed a search warrant at Williams-Beverly’s home in Mobile. Inside, they found numerous pieces of stolen mail, counterfeited checks, debit and credit cards belonging to other people, counterfeiting tools, two pistols and Williams-Beverly’s cellphone.

Williams-Beverly admitted to agents that he had produced counterfeit checks and had coordinated the buying and selling of stolen checks through the Telegram channel he ran with Jackson. Data recovered from the conspirators’ cellphones, iCloud accounts and social media accounts revealed the “extensive scope of the conspiracy,” according to the release.

The Sentence

U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose handed down the 60-month prison term.

“U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Jackson to serve 60 months in federal prison, emphasizing that he was a recidivist with several prior state arrests and convictions for theft, larceny, possession of forged instruments, possession of drugs, and bail jumping,” the release said.

After his release from prison, Jackson must serve five years of supervised release. During that time he will be subject to drug testing and restrictions on obtaining credit.

The judge did not impose a fine. However, Jackson was ordered to pay $13,041.52 in restitution to victims, owed “jointly and severally” with Williams-Beverly and other co-conspirators, along with $100 in special assessments.

Williams-Beverly had previously been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in the scheme.

What the Federal Sentence Means

Federal sentences work differently from many state sentences. Parole was abolished in the federal system for offenses committed after Nov. 1, 1987, under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Federal inmates can earn limited credit for good conduct — up to 54 days for each year of the sentence imposed — but they generally serve the large majority of their prison terms.

Supervised release is a period of court-ordered supervision that begins after a federal prison term ends. A person on supervised release reports to a U.S. probation officer and must follow conditions set by the judge. Violating those conditions can result in being sent back to prison.

The restitution order requires Jackson to help repay the losses suffered by victims. Because the obligation is “joint and several,” each person held responsible can be required to pay the full amount until the victims are repaid, though the victims cannot collect more than the total owed. The $100 special assessment is a mandatory charge that federal law imposes on each felony conviction.

The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, which holds court in Mobile and covers the state’s southwestern counties. Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama handled the case.

Stolen Checks and the Rise of Mail Theft Fraud

The Mobile case reflects a broader national problem. In February 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, issued an alert to financial institutions warning of a nationwide surge in check fraud schemes targeting the U.S. Mail.

Schemes like the one described in this case typically follow a familiar pattern. Checks are stolen from mailboxes, collection boxes or business mail. The thieves may then alter the checks — sometimes chemically “washing” the ink to change the payee or amount — or use the account and routing information printed on them to create entirely counterfeit checks. The stolen or counterfeited items are often sold through encrypted messaging channels and social media to others who attempt to cash or deposit them.

Because a single check contains a business’s or person’s name, address, bank account number and routing number, one stolen check can expose a victim to repeated fraud attempts.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Business

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and banking regulators recommend several steps to reduce the risk of mail theft and check fraud:

• Avoid leaving outgoing mail, especially checks, in your mailbox overnight or for long periods. Consider dropping important mail inside a post office.
• If you use a blue collection box, deposit mail before the last scheduled pickup of the day rather than leaving it overnight.
• Pick up incoming mail promptly, and use a locking mailbox if possible.
• Use electronic payments or online bill pay when practical to reduce the number of paper checks you send.
• Write checks with a pen that uses gel or other ink that is harder to wash off.
• Review bank statements and online account activity frequently, and report unfamiliar transactions to your bank right away.
• Businesses should ask their banks about fraud-prevention services, such as positive pay, which compares checks presented for payment against a list of checks the business actually issued.

If you suspect your mail has been stolen, you can report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or online at uspis.gov. Victims of check fraud should also contact their bank immediately and may file a report with local police.

Case Closed for Both Ringleaders

With Jackson’s sentencing, both men identified as administrators of the “House of Pain & Drank” Telegram channel have now been sentenced in federal court in Mobile — Williams-Beverly to 10 years and Jackson to five. The case began with checks taken from a single Mobile business’s mailbox and expanded into an investigation that, according to prosecutors, exposed a marketplace offering millions of dollars’ worth of stolen financial instruments to fraudsters nationwide.