Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PROVIDENCE – A Central Falls man, currently incarcerated in federal prison as the result of separate charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition, admitted to a federal judge today that, before his incarceration, he deposited stolen and/or fraudulent checks into multiple bank accounts that he controlled, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Ryan DaCruz, 28, admitted that between February 2022 and May 2023, he opened bank accounts at four Rhode Island banks into which he then deposited checks totaling tens of thousands of dollars that had been stolen from the U.S. Mail stream by confederates.
According to information presented to the court, the stolen checks, most of which were third party business checks, appeared to have been “washed” so that the payee names could be changed to Ryan DaCruz, and then deposited into his accounts. The deposited funds were then rapidly depleted through cash withdrawals and/or money transfers.
When the banks recognized the deposited items as fraudulent, they closed the accounts, and DaCruz would then open a new account at a different bank. In some instances, the banks were able to stop payment on checks before the funds were completely depleted; in other instances, they were not. The intended loss to banks totaled approximately $46.000.
DaCruz pleaded guilty today to a charge of bank fraud conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11, 2025. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Federal court records reflect that in August 2024, DaCruz was sentenced to 24 months of incarceration, having been convicted in January 2024 in for being a felon in possession of ammunition.
The case currently before a U.S. District Court judge is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John P. McAdams and Paul F. Daly, Jr.
The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Providence Police Department.
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