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Crime & Courts

New Gloucester Man Sentenced for Counterfeit Treasury Checks and Wire Fraud

Keith Mitchell, 39, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $104,464 in restitution.

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 1, 2026, 9:10 a.m. ET
Developing · checked 2h ago

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We last searched for new coverage of this at Sep 1, 2026, 9:08 a.m. ET — checked 2h ago.

A New Gloucester man was on August 31, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Portland for passing counterfeit U.S. Treasury checks and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine. The sentencing was announced on September 1, 2026. Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker Keith Mitchell, 39, to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Mitchell was also ordered to pay $104,464 in restitution. He pleaded guilty on February 5, 2026. According to court records, Mitchell deposited 13 counterfeit U.S. Treasury checks totaling $83,632 into his bank account from April through June 2024. The checks contained serial numbers and amounts of actual Treasury checks issued to third parties but were counterfeited to be payable to Mitchell. In May 2021, he also received $20,832 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds based on a fraudulent loan application that falsely claimed he owned a sole proprietorship with $100,000 in gross revenue in 2020. Mitchell was on supervised release for a federal drug conviction when he deposited the counterfeit checks. His supervised release was revoked, and he was to 21 months in prison, to be served consecutively. IRS Investigation investigated the case.

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  1. Version 11 Sept 2026, 13:10current

    First published.

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