Sacramento County Woman Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

SACRAMENTO Calif. - Monique Marie Gonzales Grado, 32, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to four years in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

As a part of her sentence, Gonzales Grado was also ordered to pay $82,142 in restitution to her victims. Gonzales Grado pleaded guilty to these charges on Sept. 9, 2025.

According to court documents, between Aug. 7, 2022, and Oct. 3, 2022, Gonzales Grado executed a scheme to defraud credit unions. She unlawfully used the identity of a victim to obtain a car loan to buy a Mercedes-Benz, a second car loan to buy a Jaguar, and a personal loan for purported "medical expenses." In a credit union account associated with these loans, Gonzales Grado also deposited two checks that had been stolen and altered to reflect the name of the victim as payee, thus allowing Gonzales Grado access to the funds. She also used the victim's identity to open an account with a mobile phone provider and to lease an apartment. And she provided law enforcement authorities with the victim's driver's license in order to avoid a traffic citation. Gonzales Grado was caught when she drove to a meeting with law enforcement regarding probation terms and drove the fraudulently obtained Jaguar to the meeting. On searching the Jaguar, law enforcement found a driver's license, Social Security card, and several other debit and credit cards in the victim's name, among other items.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with assistance from the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dhruv M. Sharma prosecuted the case.