A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a bank fraud scheme that involved stealing mail. Frank Anthony Acanda, 27, will serve one year and one day for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as ordered by United States District Judge Wendy W. Berger. Additionally, Acanda has been directed to repay those he victimized alongside his co-defendant, Jonathan Benavide Hidalgo, also 27 from Jacksonville, according to a report from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Court records highlight that Acanda, Hidalgo and others took to the streets—specifically targeting Fleming Island, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine—raiding mailboxes at residential and commercial properties over a span of several months. Once they procured the mail, the groups’ activities involved pilfering checks and money orders, which were then deposited into bank accounts they controlled; these funds were rapidly converted to cash through ATM withdrawals. They even went as far as to alter stolen checks, boosting the payable amounts in a bid to withdraw more money, the press release on the U.S. Attorney's Office detailed.

Hidalgo, who is awaiting his own fate in this case, has admitted his guilt. His plea, submitted on September 5, 2024, precedes his sentencing, which is scheduled for February 28. The extent of the pair's fraudulent scheme came to light through the collaborative investigative efforts of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the United States Postal Inspection Service's Jacksonville Office.

The prosecution of this case fell into the hands of Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.