Edwardsville bank teller helped investigators nab New York crime syndicate ‘soldiers’

An Edwardsville bank teller helped federal authorities convict two members of an New York crime organization involved in counterfeiting.

Elvin Lugo-Cales, 47, of Orlando Florida was sentenced in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, use of a false passport and aggravated identity theft. Judge Staci Yandle sentenced him to 51 months in a federal prison with three additional years of supervised release.

His co-conspirator, Johnny Collado, 30, of Bronx, New York, still is awaiting sentencing on similar charges.

According to court documents, the two New York crime syndicate “soldiers” were nabbed thanks to a suspicious teller at a U.S. Bank branch in Edwardsville.

On March 2, 2020, Lugo-Cales and Collado flew from New York to St. Louis “for the sole purpose of defrauding banks using stolen identities,” the federal complaint said.

Three days later, Lugo-Cales entered the Edwardsville bank, presenting the teller with a counterfeit check for $3,650 made payable to an identity theft victim from Colorado, the complaint stated. The check had the forged endorsement and social security number written on the back, according to federal prosecutors.

Lugo-Cales also handed the teller a false U.S. passport card displaying a photograph of himself with the name of the ID theft victim.

According to a release from the federal court, the bank teller recalled an internal email warning tellers and bank manager that a man was passing bad checks throughout the St. Louis area. Recognizing Lugo-Cales from the description in the email, she notified her supervisor who then called police.

Lugo-Cales became nervous and demanded the teller return his check and passport card. When the teller refused, he left the bank and drove away with Collado in a rented car, leaving behind the counterfeit check and passport card. The two men were pulled over and arrested nearby.

According to the criminal complaint, Lugo-Cales had more than $1,500 cash in his pocket at the time of his arrest. Collado had numerous items concealed near his crotch, including more than $25,000 in cash, multiple counterfeit IDs, counterfeit credit cards, and 19 blank counterfeit checks.

Collado’s sentencing is set for 11 a.m. on May 20.

The investigation was conducted by the Edwardsville Police Department and the United States Secret Service.