On January 17, 2020, in the Southern District of New York, Lenin Guzman-Hidalgo was sentenced for his role in the theft of U.S. Treasury checks. Guzman-Hidalgo was initially indicted in June 2018.

According to the indictment, from about May 2012 to September 2017, Guzman-Hidalgo and his co-conspirators knowingly and willfully conspired to steal Government funds, namely from the Internal Revenue Service, and converted them for their own use. The defendants wrongfully obtained U.S. Treasury checks in the names of victims and sold, deposited, or cashed the checks without the victims' authorization.

Also according to the indictment, Guzman-Hidalgo and the other defendants, knowingly used and aided and abetted in the use of names, signatures, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and driver's license numbers of other individuals, without lawful authority, in connection with the offenses. The defendants cashed and deposited stolen checks into bank accounts that were often opened using stolen identities.

Guzman-Hidalgo was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $935,943.03 and a special assessment fee of $100.00.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: S.D.N.Y. Crim. Judg., filed Feb. 20, 2020, S.D.N.Y. Indict., filed Jun. 18, 2018, S.D.N.Y. Crim. Compl., filed May 16, 2018, and USA v. Guzman-Hidalgo, et. al., History, printed Apr. 22, 2020.