Las Vegas Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Forged U.S. Treasury Check Scheme

CASPER, WY — A 47-year-old Las Vegas woman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after traveling out of state to fraudulently cash a stolen and falsely endorsed U.S. government check, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The sentencing of Katrina Marie Amaya-Lopez was confirmed in a formal release issued Tuesday, October 27, 2026, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming.

Following an investigation spearheaded by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), U.S. District Court judges sentenced Amaya-Lopez to 24 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Federal court dockets reveal that Amaya-Lopez targeted regional banking branches by obtaining a stolen U.S. Treasury disbursement check, forging endorsements, and attempting to pass the negotiable government instrument under fraudulent pretenses.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen under Case No. 26-CR-00069 as part of a nationwide initiative by the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which monitors benefit payment delivery and prosecutes stolen treasury document networks.

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|       TREASURY CHECK FRAUD SENTENCING DOSSIER          |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  - Date / Release Time: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026         |
|  - Issuing Agency: U.S. Attorney's Office (DOJ)        |
|  - Investigating Agency: Treasury Inspector General    |
|    for Tax Administration (TIGTA)                      |
|  - Defendant: Katrina Marie Amaya-Lopez, Age 47        |
|  - Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada                        |
|  - Prison Sentence: 24 Months in Federal Prison        |
|  - Post-Release Terms: 3 Years Supervised Release      |
|  - Federal Case File: Case No. 26-CR-00069             |
|  - Offense Conduct: Forging, Endorsing & Passing       |
|    Stolen U.S. Treasury Benefit Check at Bank          |
|  - Federal Initiative: Task Force to Eliminate Fraud   |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Multi-State Check Interception and Bank Schemes

Federal indictments highlighted how criminal organizations in Nevada and neighboring states frequently attempt to negotiate stolen tax refunds, Social Security disbursements, and federal relief checks in secondary markets or rural financial institutions to evade metropolitan anti-fraud detection systems.

Amaya-Lopez traveled from Las Vegas to Wyoming financial branches, presenting altered identification documents and forged signatures to bypass teller security screens.

Forensic auditing by TIGTA special agents traced the stolen instrument back to its origin, linking the transaction records and surveillance footage directly to Amaya-Lopez.

Federal prosecutors emphasized that stealing and negotiating government financial instruments directly deprives everyday recipients of vital household safety-net income while undermining the security of the U.S. banking system.

Federal Incarceration Designation

Following Tuesday’s formal sentencing entry, Amaya-Lopez will be remanded to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to begin serving her 24-month term at a designated federal correctional institution, with credit for time served during pretrial detention.

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|             FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT PRIORITIES             |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  • Treasury Audits: High-frequency scanning of digital |
|    endorsements and routing anomalies on federal checks|
|  • Task Force Backing: Expanding cross-border multi-  |
|    agency teams targeting interstate fraud rings       |
|  • Restitution Orders: Mandatory recovery protocols to |
|    reimburse victimized institutions and taxpayers     |
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice / U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Wyoming (Published Oct. 27, 2026), Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) Case Dispatches (Case No. 26-CR-00069).