Fuentes was sentenced to 57 months for bank fraud. Restitution and forfeiture are the judgment, not a new count.

A sentence after a plea is the judgment on that bank-fraud count. Restitution and forfeiture are part of the judgment, not a new accusation. On Monday, in a sentence reported in Sept. 22, 2026 coverage, U.S. District Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks sentenced Franco Fuentes, 30, of Woodland Hills, Calif., to 57 months in prison for bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2) in case 26cr404-BJC. The court also ordered him to pay victims more than $270,000 in restitution and to forfeit property seized from his residence, including over $37,000 in cash and a bill-counting machine.

Per the plea, Fuentes and associates called victims posing as bank employees investigating fraud, tricked them into surrendering bank cards, and used the cards for cash withdrawals and lavish purchases. One 80-year-old victim had a rideshare sent to her house. Withdrawals and purchases tied to her ran over $43,000, including about $22,000 at Apple stores. Those facts are the admitted conduct behind the bank-fraud count. They are not a new charging document filed at sentencing.

Restitution of more than $270,000 and forfeiture of the seized cash and the bill-counting machine are part of the judgment. They are not a new count. Release coverage described Fuentes as a Peruvian national and a green card holder. U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon of the Southern District of California, FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily, and San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl were quoted in that coverage.