U.S. Attorney Secures 26 Year Prison Sentence for Gambling-Fueled Crime Spree

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison for orchestrating a violent home invasion against his father-in-law and robbing a bank in order to fuel a severe gambling addiction.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on September 14, 2021, Marc Candelaria, 36, staged a home invasion targeting his own father-in-law, John Doe, and was assisted by an unknown co-conspirator who acted as the actual intruder. The intruder entered the home undetected late at night and attempted to force John Doe to open a safe at gunpoint. When John Doe was unable to open the safe, the intruder made Doe write a $23,000 check.

After writing the check, John Doe was brutally beaten, sustaining serious head injuries that caused him to lose consciousness. John Doe was found the next day by his daughter and transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Just hours after the home invasion, Candelaria attempted to deposit the stolen check into his personal bank account, however the bank placed a hold on the check due to what appeared to be two separate handwritings and alerted the victim’s wife to a possibly fraudulent check.

On October 30, 2021, Candelaria robbed a Bank of America branch using a typewritten demand note that threatened cartel violence. The bank teller, fearing for his life, gave Candelaria the cash from his register.

The investigation revealed Candelaria committed both crimes to fund a severe gambling addiction. Between September 2020 and May 2022, he visited a local casino approximately 169 times, losing large sums of money.

On March 27, 2024, Candelaria was convicted by a federal jury of bank fraud. On April 10, 2024, Candelaria entered into a plea agreement on the bank robbery charge.

Upon his release from prison, Candelaria will be subject to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel A. Hurtado and Natasha Moghadam are prosecuted the case.

# # #