By: Richard L. Smith
A federal judge has sentenced a Brooklyn, New York man to 30 months in prison for orchestrating a mail theft and bank fraud scheme that victimized residents in Bergen County, authorities announced.
Noah Aranzamendi, 27, received the sentence on February 18, 2026, after previously pleading guilty in July 2025 before U.S. District Judge Edward Kiel in Camden federal court.
He admitted to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and receipt and possession of stolen mail.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between February 2020 and February 2022, Aranzamendi and his co-conspirators stole checks from mailboxes in Bergen County and other locations.
The stolen checks were sold to third parties or deposited, sometimes altered or duplicated, into bank accounts controlled by individuals who knowingly provided access for the scheme.
Investigators determined that Aranzamendi obtained stolen U.S. Postal Service “arrow keys,” which are used to open USPS collection boxes.
Using those keys, he and others accessed mail directly from postal boxes to steal checks.
After obtaining the checks, Aranzamendi and his accomplices targeted the related bank accounts and created fraudulent identification documents in the names of legitimate accountholders.
Those false IDs were then used to withdraw funds tied to the stolen checks.
Authorities said the scheme resulted in losses totaling at least $240,213.
Court records show this conviction marks Aranzamendi’s fifth stemming from similar fraud schemes.