Source: United States Department of Justice
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.