Providence man sentenced for role in counterfeit check scheme

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Providence man was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he admitted to willingly taking part in a bank fraud scheme.

According to court documents, 27-year-old Julio Ariza previously admitted to a federal judge that between October and November of 2020, he deposited seven fake checks with the intent to defraud a bank of $102,694.38.

Officials said Ariza recruited people to allow the fake checks to be deposited into their accounts who would then aid in getting the money to Ariza.

Ariza was sentenced on June 8 to 24 months of jail time to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution to banks totally $22,976.21, the actual amount lost from his scheme.

A co-conspirator, identified by authorities as 27-year-old Nestor Concepcion, was charged similarly and pleaded guilty on January 1, back in 2022. He was sentenced to 16 months of jail time followed by four years of supervised release.

Concepcion admitted that the intended loss to banks due to his criminal conduct totaled $71,717.77.