South LA Crips street gang member sentenced in $2.8M bank fraud scheme: DOJ
LOS ANGELES - Authorities announced 26-year-old Chase Matthew Griffin, a member of the South Los Angeles-based Crips, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in a $2.8 million scheme advertised on social media.
The backstory:
On March 5, Griffin pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and had been in federal custody since September 2025.
A press release from the Department of Justice said Griffin, who goes by "Trey," took stolen checks and would alter them or create counterfeit versions. He would then use Instagram to recruit bank account holders to give him access to their accounts. Once he had access, Griffin deposited the fraudulent checks and quickly withdrew the funds before banks could detect the fraud.
The Investigation
Investigators said one incident happened in December 2023, when a North Hollywood business reported it mailed three checks totaling $84,490 from a United States Postal Service collection box in Tarzana. Those checks were stolen and deposited into JPMorgan Chase accounts that did not belong to the intended recipients.
Authorities tracked another incident involving stolen checks that were used for ATM withdrawals, Zelle and CashApp payments, a plane ticket, and card purchases at a San Bernardino County casino. Law enforcement eventually traced the scheme back to Griffin.
Griffin was from Atlanta but also lived in Ontario and South Los Angeles.
The Source: This report is based on official court documents, criminal case filings, and a sentencing announcement press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).