Leader Of $55 Million Check Fraud Ring Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, announced today that MICHAEL EDWARDS, a/k/a "Only1Giela," was sentenced today to eight years in prison by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl for orchestrating an expansive scheme to steal and fraudulently alter millions of dollars in checks before depositing the checks or posting them for sale on his Telegram channel, after which he obstructed justice by deleting evidence of his crimes. On November 13, 2025, EDWARDS pled guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud, unlawfully possessing a stolen postal key and conspiring to unlawfully possess a postal key, stealing mail and conspiring to steal mail, and committing aggravated identity theft.

"For more than two years, Michael Edwards criminally utilized the U.S. mail system to steal millions of dollars from Americans who rely on it by obtaining postal keys, stealing thousands of checks from the mail, washing those checks, and depositing the fraudulent checks or posting them for sale on Telegram," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. "Even after his arrest, Edwards kept operating his illicit business on Telegram and obstructed justice by deleting his Telegram posts. Today's prison sentence is indicative of the result awaiting those who breach the U.S. mail system to steal from everyday Americans."

According to the charging documents and other filings and statements made in court proceedings:

Between approximately January 2022 and July 2024, EDWARDS orchestrated a scheme to steal millions of dollars in checks from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes in New York and elsewhere. As part of the scheme, EDWARDS coordinated with others to purchase postal keys that would unlock collection boxes in affluent neighborhoods in Manhattan. After the checks were stolen, EDWARDS and his co-conspirators fraudulently altered the payees and, in some instances, the check amounts. EDWARDS also coordinated with and directed others to recruit third parties to provide their bank account information, and supervised the deposit of millions of dollars in fraudulently altered checks into bank accounts in Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

EDWARDS was arrested in July 2023 after New York City Police Department ("NYPD") officers caught EDWARDS and a co-conspirator stealing mail, during which EDWARDS and the co-conspirator nearly struck an NYPD officer while fleeing in their getaway vehicle. Even after his arrest, EDWARDS continued to perpetrate his fraud scheme, including by posting approximately $32 million in stolen checks on his Telegram channel "Only1Giela."

In August 2024, shortly after EDWARDS was charged with continuing to commit crimes on pre-trial release based in part on evidence found on his Telegram channel, EDWARDS obstructed justice by deleting the contents of his Telegram channel.

Ultimately, EDWARDS' fraud scheme involved more than 2,600 stolen checks and resulted in a total intended loss of more than $55 million, of which more than $18 million was deposited into co-conspirator accounts.

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In addition to the prison term, EDWARDS, 31, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $18,840,084.45, and ordered to pay restitution.

Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative work of the USPIS. Mr. McDonald also thanked the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the NYPD for their assistance with the investigation.

The case is being handled by the Office's General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerry J. Fang and William K. Stone are in charge of the prosecution.