Pittsburgh Man Sentenced for Deposit of Stolen and Altered U.S. Treasury Check

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,471.80 on his convictions for uttering counterfeit obligations or securities and theft of government property, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. Senior United States District Judge David Stewart Cercone imposed the sentence on Andre Pitts, 21. According to information presented to the Court, on June 12, 2023, Pitts deposited an altered version of a U.S. Treasury check in the amount of $62,211. The check had been issued in February 2023 to another individual related to that person’s income tax return, with the memo line of the check identifying both the individual and tax year of 2021. The payee information and memo line of the deposited check had been altered to identify Pitts, his residence, and a tax year of 2022. Following his deposit of the altered check, Pitts quickly made several transactions, including withdrawing $500 in cash and having a $25,000 cashier’s check issued to himself. Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. United States Attorney Rivetti commended the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) Office of Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Pitts.