Hammond Man Sentenced to Prison For Postal Money Order Fraud Scheme
HAMMOND – Yesterday, Anthony Juan McClendon, 30 years old, of Hammond, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.
McClendon was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $41,426.14 in restitution to victims of the offense.
According to documents in the case, throughout the summer of 2024, McClendon organized and led a scheme to defraud area financial institutions using U.S. Postal Service money orders that had been altered to reflect higher face values than the amounts for which they had been purchased. McClendon recruited additional individuals to the scheme, enabling him to expand the criminal enterprise to victimize banks and credit unions located throughout Northern Indiana. In total, the conspiracy produced and negotiated over $120,000 worth of altered money orders. Prior to this offense, McClendon had received three state convictions for fraud against a financial institution in various Indiana counties.
McClendon is the third defendant to have been convicted and sentenced in this case. On October 22, 2025, co-Defendant Reginald Russell was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for his role in altering low-dollar Postal money orders to reflect higher dollar values at McClendon’s direction. On November 13, 2025, the court also sentenced co-Defendant Austin Hartman to 18 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for his role in cashing altered money orders at a local credit union. Russell and Hartman were both ordered to pay restitution to the victims of the offense.
“In this case, Anthony Juan McClendon and his associates exploited the services of community banks and the United States Postal Service in an effort to make money through fraud” said Proctor. “As the court’s sentences in this case demonstrate, serial fraudsters will be met with serious consequences for their conduct in the Northern District of Indiana.”
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Munster Police Department, Hammond Police Department, Lansing (Illinois) Police Department, and others. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary D. Heater.
