Michael Herrera

Convicted and sentenced. Michael Herrera, 45, of the Bronx, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and sentenced to 54 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara for a scheme in which recruited stand-ins used other people’s identifications to make unauthorized bank withdrawals at branches in three states.

Introduction

Michael Herrera is a 45-year-old man from the Bronx, New York, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and sentenced to 54 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, in a case announced by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York. The conspiracy recruited people to pose as other persons and drain their bank accounts through unauthorized withdrawals, and Herrera took part in drives to bank branches in Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania before the scheme touched Northwest Bank branches inside the Western District of New York.

Background Information

In January 2025, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, co-conspirator Vance Ashley was recruited by members of the conspiracy to pose as other persons and make unauthorized withdrawals from those persons’ bank accounts, agreeing to do so in exchange for money. Between January 28 and February 3, 2025, Ashley drove with Herrera and two other co-conspirators to bank branches in Wilmington, Delaware, Liberty, New York, and Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where Ashley used the identifications of other individuals to make, or attempt to make, unauthorized withdrawals from the victims’ bank accounts.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The Western District of New York leg of the scheme came on February 5, 2025, when the defendants drove to a Northwest Bank branch in Lockport, where Ashley made an unauthorized withdrawal from the account of an individual residing in Erie, Pennsylvania, and purchased a bank check using funds from that account. The group then drove the same day to another Northwest Bank branch in Williamsville, where Ashley again made an unauthorized withdrawal and purchased a bank check using funds from the account of a victim from North East, Pennsylvania. Also that day, Herrera illegally used the identification of another person during the commission of a felony — the aggravated identity theft count on which he was convicted.

The total loss amount, including actual loss and intended loss, was $91,300. Ashley was previously convicted in the case and sentenced to serve 27 months in prison.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, and the sentencing resulted from an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry Chavis, and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone. The 54-month term and the prior 27-month sentence for Ashley put both convicted members of the Western New York leg of the conspiracy behind bars.

Current Status

Herrera is serving a 54-month federal prison sentence imposed by Judge Arcara following his convictions for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The sentencing announcement of October 16, 2026 stands as the public record of the case’s resolution, with the $91,300 combined actual and intended loss figure documented in the Justice Department’s accounting of the scheme.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Herrera leaves the case with two federal felony convictions — conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, the latter arising from his same-day use of another person’s identification during a felony — and a prison term of four and a half years. The case illustrates how identity-theft bank fraud operations are built: recruiters hire stand-ins to impersonate account holders, move them across state lines to diffuse detection among branch banks, and convert stolen account balances into bank checks, with the Justice Department treating the combined actual and intended loss of $91,300 as the measure of the harm.

Sources

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, “Bronx man going to prison for bank fraud conspiracy and ID theft,” October 16, 2026 — source