United States of America v. Angel Valentin-Martinez

Buffalo, New York, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000.

Between October and December 2024, Angel Valentin-Martinez, 34, of Buffalo, NY, conspired with Daniel Plata Miranda to fraudulently gain access to the credit card accounts of individuals at Synchrony Bank. The two used an account holder’s personally identifiable information to pass Synchrony’s account verification process. Martinez and Miranda then changed the address of record on the accounts to an address that they controlled or had access to. This oftentimes caused new credit cards to be sent to Martinez’s residence in Buffalo, or to a P.O. Box registered to Miranda in Rochester, NY. On one or more occasions, Martinez drove to the Rochester P.O. Box to retrieve mail. Martinez and Miranda then used the fraudulently obtained credit cards to make purchases in the Western New York area, including numerous purchases at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores. In total, Martinez and Miranda used five fraudulently obtained credit cards at six different Lowe’s locations to make more than two dozen purchases, totaling approximately $13,098.

Charges are pending against Daniel Plata Miranda.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward, Boston Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 17, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Vilardo.

The Defendant elected to plead guilty.