⏱ 2 min read
Carlos Banegas-Contreras, a 47-year-old illegal alien from Honduras, was involved in a bank fraud conspiracy in Oklahoma, where he and others used fake identification cards to cash 178 fraudulent paychecks totaling $299,474. The scheme, which occurred in June 2023, targeted three check-cashing businesses and five branches of a local bank, with the fake paychecks designed to look like they were issued by a building materials supply company in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
Banegas-Contreras pleaded guilty to the charge on October 6, 2025, and was sentenced to 27 months in prison. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Secret Service, the Indiana State Police, the Benton County, Indiana Sheriff’s Department, the Benton County, Indiana Prosecutor’s Office, the Poteau, Oklahoma Police Department, and the Houston, Texas Police Department.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Banegas-Contreras will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Cameron McEwen represented the United States in the case. The sentence reflects the serious nature of the crime, which involved a significant amount of money and a sophisticated scheme to defraud financial institutions.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: Oklahoma
- Location: OK
- Source: DOJ Press Release
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News