Two Massachusetts men will be spending time in federal prison after what prosecutors describe as a low-tech but lucrative hustle that targeted old-school bill payers. In separate sentencings this week in federal court in Boston, 26-year-old Imanol Rios‑Franco of Canton was ordered to serve 35 months behind bars, while 23-year-old Brandon Baez of North Attleboro received a two-year federal term for their roles in a mail theft and check fraud scheme.
Sentences, restitution and pleas
Rios‑Franco’s 35-month sentence will be followed by one year of supervised release and a $12,528 restitution order. Baez’s two-year term comes with five years of supervised release and $10,285 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Prosecutors say both men pleaded guilty in November 2025 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to steal and possess stolen mail.
How the scheme worked
According to prosecutors, Rios‑Franco, Baez and unidentified co-conspirators focused on U.S. Postal Service collection boxes from at least June 2023 through February 2024. They allegedly pulled checks out of the mail, then “washed” the handwritten ink with off-the-shelf chemicals so they could rewrite the payees and cash the proceeds.
Once the checks were altered, the money did not sit around. Prosecutors say the group deposited the doctored checks, then quickly pulled funds out at ATMs or used the accounts to buy money orders. Investigators later recovered cellphone communications that, they say, showed the crew coordinating the thefts, deposits and withdrawals, as reported by Boston 25 News.
Investigators and prosecution
The sentencings were announced by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, along with officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Boston Field Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Local police in Boston and Wellesley also assisted the investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lucy Sun and Philip C. Cheng handled the federal prosecution.
Why prosecutors flagged the scheme
Federal filings and local reporting have linked this kind of mail theft to broader “card cracking” operations that lean on organized crews. These groups often recruit straw account holders to move money from washed checks through the banking system, a pattern seen around Boston’s suburbs, according to The Boston Globe…