A South Carolina mail handler has been sentenced to five years in federal prison with an additional five years of supervised release for stealing checks, altering them and then selling them online and on the street.
The case began when a bank contacted the USPS Office of Inspector General’s hotline after several clients in Myrtle Beach, SC, suspected their business checks were being stolen from the mail.
OIG agents launched an investigation and quickly zeroed in on the West Columbia, SC, mail processing plant. Using advanced surveillance techniques, they caught the thief rifling through the mail, choosing specific envelopes and then stuffing 25 of them into his waistband.
After his arrest, the mail handler said he’d been stealing checks for about five months and selling them on the streets for small amounts of cash.
But special agents knew there was more to the story, since some of the checks wound up for sale on social media. Plus, there were large cash deposits into his bank account.
The suspect eventually came clean and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
In addition to his prison time and supervised release, the court ordered him to return more than $200,000 to his victims.
The OIG recently highlighted this case on its website.
If you suspect or know of mail theft involving USPS employees or contractors, report it to the OIG.
