A 27-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to over a year in federal prison for his role in a mail theft and bank fraud scheme.
U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger sentenced Frank Anthony Acanda of Jacksonville to one year and one day in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Acanda was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims he and his co-defendant, Jonathan Benavide Hidalgo, defrauded.
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According to court documents, Acanda, Hidalgo, and others stole mail from residential and business mailboxes in Fleming Island, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine. They then stole checks and money orders from the mail, depositing them into bank accounts they controlled and withdrawing the funds from ATMs. In some cases, they altered the stolen checks to increase the amount of money they could withdraw.
Hidalgo pleaded guilty to related charges in September 2024 and is scheduled for sentencing on February 28, 2025.
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The case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein prosecuted the case.
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