Hammond, IN – A 34-year-old Honduran national has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud in Indiana and Oklahoma.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, Ricardo Castro Murillo was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon to 37 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Castro Murillo was also ordered to pay $533,043 in restitution and will face removal proceedings following his release, as he has no legal immigration status in the United States.
Court records show that on January 11, 2023, Castro Murillo and his co-conspirators used fraudulent identification cards to cash 169 fake payroll checks worth $233,569 at multiple bank branches in the Northern District of Indiana. Nearly six months later, on June 23, 2023, the group allegedly repeated the scheme in Oklahoma, cashing 178 fraudulent paychecks totaling $299,474 at several bank branches and check cashing businesses.
Acting U.S. Attorney M. Scott Proctor said the sentence reflected the “serious financial harm” the conspiracy caused to banks and small businesses nationwide. “The sentence imposed by the court sends a message that there are real consequences for engaging in fraud, particularly in northwest Indiana,” Proctor said in a statement.
Federal authorities said the scheme was uncovered through a multi-agency investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Indiana State Police, with assistance from multiple local law enforcement agencies in Indiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
One of Castro Murillo’s co-conspirators, Luis Banegas Rodriguez, was previously sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in the fraud scheme.
This article was produced by a journalist and may include AI-assisted input. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
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