Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Carlos Banegas-Contreras, age 47, an illegal alien from Honduras, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud.On October 6, 2025, Banegas-Contreras pleaded guilty to the charge in federal district court.According to investigators, in June of 2023, Banegas-Contreras and others conspired to use fake identification cards to cash 178 fraudulent paychecks totaling $299,474.00 at three check-cashing businesses and at five branches of a local bank. The fraudulent paychecks were designed to look like they had been issued by a building materials supply company in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.