Retail Associate Stephanie Tait and Customer Services Manager Jenifer Bertolina-Teper were recently on duty in Murray, UT, when they grew concerned about an 86-year-old customer who had come in repeatedly to mail cashier’s checks.
The woman was now speaking of a man who had promised to visit her that afternoon and give her a multimillion-dollar reward.
Alarmed by the revelation, Bertolina-Teper contacted the Postal Inspection Service, which opened an elder abuse investigation, and Tait took time off the clock to accompany the customer to her bank, where officials were able to stop payment on some of the checks.
The woman’s expenditures in the scam apparently exceeded $100,000.
The elder abuse investigation identified additional victims, and a state adult protective services caseworker was assigned to support the customer.
“Stephanie and Jenifer are great examples of USPS employees going above and beyond the call of duty,” said John Voinovich, an investigative support analyst for the Inspection Service.
“Unbeknownst to them, the customer has no children, other living relatives or caregivers to help her. They were her family for that brief, but needed, period of time. They are truly heroes.”