Federal prosecutors say Nicholas Cabral used fabricated military orders to seek financial protections, sent fraudulent federal court orders to banks and later posed as a Homeland Security officer while searching a Sewell home.
CAMDEN, N.J. — A 33-year-old Sewell man and former U.S. Marine has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a yearslong series of schemes in which prosecutors say he fabricated military deployment orders, used fraudulent federal court documents and impersonated a federal law enforcement officer while entering and searching a home.
Nicholas Cabral pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to a three-count information charging him with bank fraud, counterfeiting and using an official court seal, and impersonating a federal officer to conduct an unlawful search, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
The case spans conduct from 2019 through December 2025 and centers on three separate forms of deception alleged by federal prosecutors: efforts to obtain financial benefits reserved for eligible servicemembers, fraudulent court orders sent to financial institutions, and Cabral’s impersonation of a Federal Protective Service inspector during a police response in Sewell.
Cabral is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 10, 2026.
According to court documents and statements made during the plea proceeding, Cabral served in the U.S. Marine Corps from November 2011 until May 30, 2014. He was honorably discharged as a private first class because of a disability that existed before his military service, prosecutors said.
Federal authorities said Cabral did not serve again in the U.S. military after his discharge, either on active duty or as a reserve member.
The Fraud & Forgery Charges
Despite that, prosecutors said Cabral later created and mailed fraudulent military orders to financial institutions to make it appear that he had returned to active service and qualified for protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, commonly known as the SCRA.
The federal law is intended to reduce certain financial and legal burdens on eligible military personnel so they can focus on their service. Its protections can affect matters including some debts, mortgage obligations, court proceedings, taxes, leases, evictions and insurance.
Prosecutors said that sometime after leaving the Marine Corps and before July 4, 2019, Cabral decided to invoke the SCRA in an effort to persuade financial institutions to lower his annual credit interest rates and provide relief from payments and fees.
To support those requests, Cabral mailed false military orders that purported to have been issued by the Department of the Army and Department of the Navy, according to federal authorities.
The fabricated documents variously represented that Cabral was a captain in the U.S. Army or a lieutenant and later a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps who had been called to active duty for at least 180 days, prosecutors said. The orders also purported to bear the signature of a military official.
Between July 2019 and November 2022, Cabral mailed at least nine fraudulent military orders to financial institutions in an effort to obtain SCRA benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
At least one institution granted relief after receiving the documents, prosecutors said. That relief included the return of account-related fees, an adjustment to Cabral’s annual percentage rate, suspension of annual and late fees and other charges, and a reduction of his minimum monthly payment to $0 for the duration of what authorities described as a fictitious military deployment.
Federal prosecutors said Cabral later expanded the scheme by sending fraudulent court orders to financial institutions in September 2024.
Those documents purported to arise from civil complaints filed under the SCRA in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, according to the government. The fraudulent orders alleged that the financial institutions had failed to appear for a Sept. 19, 2024, hearing concerning a motion Cabral purportedly filed.
The documents falsely represented that a federal court had found Cabral to be an active-duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces who was entitled to SCRA protections, prosecutors said. They also purported to find that financial institutions had violated the federal law.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the fraudulent orders directed financial institutions to remove negative remarks from Cabral’s credit report and purported to find that he was in compliance with his payment obligations under the SCRA.
Prosecutors also alleged that the court documents bore a forged judge’s signature and made unauthorized use of an official court seal.
Impersonating A Homeland Security Officer
The third component of the federal case arose more than a year later, on Dec. 10, 2025, when Cabral allegedly posed as an inspector with the Federal Protective Service, a law enforcement component associated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Cabral had never been employed as a Federal Protective Service inspector, prosecutors said.
According to federal authorities, Cabral called the Washington Township Police Department’s non-emergency number that day and reported seeing the front door of a Sewell residence standing ajar.
As a Washington Township police officer arrived at the home, Cabral also arrived in a marked Dodge Charger displaying “Homeland Security Police” markings, with its overhead emergency lights activated, prosecutors said.
Cabral exited the vehicle wearing a gold-colored badge and carrying a semi-automatic handgun in a holster on his belt, according to the government.
When the Washington Township officer asked whether he was a Homeland Security officer, Cabral responded, “Homeland, yeah.”
Prosecutors said Cabral then drew the semi-automatic pistol from its holster and entered the residence. While inside, he shouted “police department” as he searched the home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Cabral also admitted that he had driven the marked “Homeland Security Police” vehicle on other occasions without permission, prosecutors said.
Penalties
The bank fraud charge carries a maximum potential sentence of 30 years in federal prison. It also carries a statutory maximum fine equal to the greatest of $1 million or twice the gross amount of gain or loss resulting from the offense.
The charge involving counterfeiting and use of an official court seal carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison. The charge of impersonating a federal law enforcement officer to conduct a search carries a maximum potential sentence of three years.
Each of those latter two offenses also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross amount of gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. Maximum statutory penalties do not necessarily indicate the sentence a defendant will receive; federal sentences are determined by the court after consideration of applicable law and other factors.
The investigation involved special agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspectors, deputy U.S. marshals, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, the Defense Logistics Agency Office of Inspector General and Washington Township police detectives and officers, according to federal prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also credited assistance from the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richardson of the Criminal Division in Camden is representing the federal government in the case.