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06/29/2026
Champaign man pleads guilty to bank fraud conspiracy
WCIA.com
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A Champaign man pleaded guilty to engaging in a conspiracy to steal checks from the mail and deposit them into fraudulently-opened bank accounts in St. Louis last week.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 24-year-old Isaiah W. Douglas admitted on Wednesday to conspiring with other people to deposit checks that had been stolen in the mail. He also admitted to opening bank accounts in the name of the names of the businesses listed on the checks. Douglas and his co-conspirators tried to cash at least $581,123 in stolen checks.
Luis A. Franco-Gonzalez, 26, of Rantoul, Ill., and Isaiah B. Handford, 28, pleaded guilty on May 20 to one count of making a false statement to a financial institution.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Douglas and others stole checks from collection boxes in and around St. Louis. Then, he offered money to Handford and Franco-Gonzalez to fraudulently open bank accounts. Douglas also gave them false business documents to do so.
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