On August 7, 2023, in the Central District of California, Eliseo Abas Flores was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release after she pled guilty to attempted bank fraud. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $414,400 and a special assessment of $100.

On or about March 15, 2022, through September 6, 2022, Flores obtained counterfeit copies of checks issued by the United States Department of the Treasury that had been altered to replace the payee’s name and addresses. Flores cashed the checks at two United States Post Offices in Los Angeles, California, and received an equivalent of the amount stated on the checks in cash from a United States Postal Service clerk. To facilitate the scheme Flores knowingly used identification that belonged to another person.    

From 2021 to 2022, at least 149 Economic Impact Payment United States Treasury checks, originally issued to various persons, were altered to be in the name of either Flores or an identity unlawfully used by her coconspirator.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: C.D. Cal., Judgement, filed Aug., 7, 2023; C.D. Cal., Indict., filed Nov., 4, 2022; and C.D. Cal., Crim. Compl., filed Oct., 3, 2022.