(WNY News Now) – A Buffalo resident admitted in federal court to running a fraudulent debt collection scheme that defrauded hundreds of people out of more than $420,000.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that 26-year-old Nicholas Janes of Buffalo has pleaded guilty to mail fraud before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright, the case stems from a 2023 investigation into suspicious USPS Express Mail packages sent to Janes’s Buffalo residence. The packages were addressed under variations of Janes’s name and several fictitious law firms, raising red flags with federal investigators.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service discovered that Janes had been operating a nationwide fraud scheme, posing as a sheriff’s deputy or an attorney. He contacted individuals by phone, falsely claiming they owed debts on unpaid loans and threatening legal action unless payment was made. Victims were instructed to send money orders via overnight delivery to addresses controlled by Janes, including mailboxes in Michigan and his Buffalo home.

The investigation linked Janes to fraudulent law firm names such as “The Nichols Law Group,” “The Nicholas Law Group,” and “The Offices of Pachulski, Mueller and Barnes,” among others. In total, Janes defrauded over 500 victims across the United States, collecting $420,812.92.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, led by Special Agent-in-Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the Boston Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 11, 2025, before Judge Sinatra.