A 26-year-old Rochester man could face up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty this week in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to prosecutors, Sheldon Adams participated in a scheme between March and September 29, 2023, to steal hundreds of checks from U.S. Postal Service mailboxes across the Rochester area. Investigators say Adams and others forged or altered the stolen checks to withdraw funds from victims’ bank accounts.
Authorities say Adams used social media to recruit individuals to deposit or cash the fraudulent checks using their own accounts, then withdraw the money and turn over the remainder to members of the conspiracy. Those who participated received small payments for their role.
On September 29, 2023, Adams was found carrying 15 pages of blank check stock paper and about 335 stolen checks taken from USPS collection boxes between April and June. Some of the checks had been chemically altered using acetone.
The scheme involved approximately 227 individual victims, 36 businesses, and multiple financial institutions, with stolen and altered checks totaling an estimated $516,912.17. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, New York State Police, and Rochester Police Department.
Adams is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2026, at 2 p.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
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