A Lancaster man was sentenced Monday to nearly five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for depositing over $1.2 million in forged money orders into bank accounts then withdrawing cash from the accounts.

According to court documents, from July 31, 2013 to Feb. 13, 2019, Sterlyn Lee Smith Jr., 49, from Lancaster, and dozens of others executed a scheme to deposit altered money orders into bank accounts in other people’s names and then withdrawing the funds before the banks discovered the money orders were forged.

As part of the scheme, Smith and others purchased money orders at United States Post Offices in California and Nevada. Then, they fraudulently altered the money orders to high dollar amount money orders. Smith and others then deposited the fraudulent money orders into bank accounts at two banks in Nevada and California and made cash withdrawals from the accounts.

Over the course of this six-year bank fraud scheme, Smith and others deposited and attempted to deposit more than 1,200 forged money orders totaling more than $1.2 million dollars.

Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud, one count for each of the banks Smith victimized.

In addition to imprisonment, Smith was ordered to pay $432,482.63 in restitution.

Acting United States Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada and Inspector in Charge Glen Henderson of the United States Postal Inspections Service (USPIS), Phoenix Division made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the USPIS. Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly Frayn and Justin Washburne prosecuted the case.

To report a fraud complaint, call the U.S. Postal Service Fraud Complaint Hotline at 1-800-372-8347 or visit the USPIS website. 

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.