NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal check books and credit cards from the mail, deposit fraudulent checks, including pandemic relief checks, and use stolen credit cards without authorization, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Jeffrey Bennett, 27, of Irvington, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today by videoconference.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Bennett to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $61,438.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero; special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi; special agents with IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez; and special agents with the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Summit Police Department, the New Providence Police Department, the Piscataway Police Department, the Newark Police Department, the South Orange Police Department, and the Little Falls Police Department for their assistance.