LA Crips gangster who advertised $2.8 million bank fraud on Instagram learns fate

A member of the Los Angeles Crips who brazenly posted photos of himself on Instagram holding stacks of cash while advertising a bank fraud scheme was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for the $2.8 million scam.

Chase Matthew Griffin, a.k.a. “Trey,” used Instagram to lure accomplices who gave him access to their bank accounts, where deposited forged checks and made off with the loot.

Griffin, 26, who came from Atlanta but also resided in Ontario and South Los Angeles, was sentenced in Los Angeles federal court Thursday and also ordered to pay $307,386 in restitution.

The fraudster pled guilty on March 5 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He has been in federal custody since September 2025.

Prosecutors said Griffin participated in a criminal conspiracy that started in 2022, in which he and his associates obtained checks stolen from the mail and then altered them or created counterfeit versions, so they appeared to be payable to accomplices.

Griffin recruited these accomplices online, often through Instagram, where he posted photos of himself holding towering stacks of cash. He advertised for holders of various bank accounts to give him access to those accounts.

After he recruited an accomplice, Griffin and his crew deposited the fraudulent checks, typically for tens of thousands of dollars, into the bank account and then raced to withdraw the funds before the bank could detect the fraud.

Griffin used the money to bankroll a high-flying lifestyle that included a ranch home with a $15,00-per-month lease, jet travel and partying at casinos, prosecutors said. Social media pics of the crook showed him posing with a BMW and a Rolls Royce.

A case from December 2023 shows how the scam went down,

A North Hollywood business owner reported to law enforcement that the business had mailed three checks totaling approximately $85,000 from a United States Postal Service collection box in Tarzana.

The checks were stolen before they were delivered to their intended recipient and then deposited into JPMorgan Chase accounts belonging to Griffin’s accomplices, prosecutors said. 

A law enforcement review of a Chase bank account where one of those checks was deposited revealed a previous deposit of approximately $22,487 made at an ATM in Upland.

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This check, along with another for approximately $29,081, was stolen and used to create counterfeit versions with the same date, check number, and amount as the original, but with different payees.

The money was quickly withdrawn from the account and used for ATM withdrawals, Zelle and CashApp payments, a plane ticket, and card purchases at a San Bernardino County casino, according to prosecutors.

The scheme finally unraveled after investigators flipped an accomplice of Griffin’s and convinced the person to cooperate with law enforcement, court documents show. 

In late 2023, Griffin worked with the cooperating witness to deposit three fraudulent checks worth $199,097.27 into a JPMorgan Chase account belonging to the witness.

The snitch, who knew Griffin only as “Trey,” provided information that led investigators to the fraudster, including text message between the two.

“Within the text messages was a photo sent to the witness with Griffin’s tattooed hand holding a receipt for an ATM deposit of a check in the amount of $22,487.29 and the witness’ JPMorgan Chase debit card,” the court papers state.

Griffin recruited his accomplices with a pair of Instagram accounts bearing the handles Treytimes3 and Treytimes3_, in which he posed with large amounts of cash and guns. In other photos he stood in front of ATM machines and held ATM receipts.

One story posted under the Treytimes3_  handle read: “If you don’t put a Chase in my hand by 4pm today you’re literally an idiot,” in an apparent request for a JPMorgan Chase accountholder to respond, prosecutors said.

Another photo posted to the account from the inside of a Rolls Royce automobile contained the text: “Every Chase in la call me rn Next day 20-90k.”

On July 16, 2025, Griffin was arrested at a traffic stop in Conyers, Georgia, with approximately 303 grams of marijuana, a scale, and a firearm, but was subsequently released.

Authorities later that year took him back into custody. An investigation into his co-conspirators remains ongoing.