A Brooklyn resident has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for participating in a scheme involving the theft and alteration of checks from mailboxes, which were then used to defraud banks. The sentencing took place on February 18, 2026, as announced by senior counsel Philip Lamparello.
Noah Aranzamendi, age 27, had previously pleaded guilty in July 2025 before U.S. District Judge Edward Kiel in Camden federal court. He faced charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and possession of stolen mail.
Court documents reveal that between February 2020 and February 2022, Aranzamendi worked with others to steal checks from mail in Bergen County and other locations. These stolen checks were either sold or deposited—sometimes after being altered or duplicated—into accounts belonging to individuals who had allowed their bank accounts to be used for the operation. Aranzamendi obtained official USPS arrow keys, which enabled him to access mail directly from postal boxes.
The group also targeted the original account holders by creating false identification documents in their names, allowing fraudulent withdrawals from those accounts. The scheme caused losses of at least $240,213.
This marks Aranzamendi’s fifth conviction related to similar offenses.
Senior Counsel Lamparello acknowledged the efforts of postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark under Christopher A. Nielsen, special agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General led by Matthew Modafferi, and thanked the Teaneck Police Department under Chief Andrew R. McGurr.
Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle M. Navarro represented the government in this case.
Defense counsel for Aranzamendi was Ikram Ally.
