NEW YORK — Laquan Williams, known as “China Man,” was sentenced Oct. 13 to 200 months, or 16 years and eight months, in federal prison for bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, federal prosecutors announced.
Williams posed with bundles of cash around his neck, held money against his face and displayed bills at nightclubs. NBC New York reported that prosecutors included those photographs in their sentencing submission as they sought a lengthy prison term.
The photographs are circulating online alongside a short video reposted by SAY CHEESE! showing stacks of currency. The clip displays the Instagram username “chinaman_mt”; it does not show the arrest or sentencing.
Williams, 42, of Florham Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty Sept. 4, 2025. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain imposed his sentence, according to the Justice Department’s Oct. 14 announcement.
Prosecutors said the schemes operated from 2021 through 2024. Accomplices impersonated bank customers and business owners to transfer money, while another operation deposited stolen U.S. Treasury checks into accounts controlled by participants.
The Treasury check scheme involved more than $30 million in intended losses, including a stolen $13.9 million check. Prosecutors reported at least $1.8 million in actual losses across the schemes.
After Williams’ May 23, 2024, arrest, investigators searching his home and vehicle recovered more than 1,000 stolen or altered checks, 571 counterfeit identification cards and two loaded handguns, prosecutors said.
Williams committed the crimes while on supervised release after receiving a 64-month sentence in May 2018 for similar fraud.
His new sentence includes three years of supervised release. He was ordered to forfeit approximately $1.8 million and pay restitution.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice sentencing announcement, October 14, 2026; NBC New York reporting on the sentencing photographs; SAY CHEESE! social media post, October 16, 2026.
