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Press Release

Sacramento County Woman Indicted for Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment on March 27, 2025, charging Monique Marie Gonzales Grado, 31, of Sacramento, with five counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Gonzales Grado unlawfully used the identity of another person to obtain a car loan to buy a Jaguar and a personal loan for purported “medical expenses.” In a credit union account associated with these loans, Gonzales Grado also deposited two checks that had been stolen and altered to reflect the name of the identity-theft victim as payee, thus allowing Gonzales Grado access to the funds. Separately, Gonzales Grado deposited another stolen check that had been altered to reflect her name as payee in a different bank account that she opened in her own name.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dhruv M. Sharma is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Gonzales Grado faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the bank fraud charges, as well as a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for the aggravated identity theft charges. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated April 4, 2025

Topics
Financial Fraud
Identity Theft