Former Postal Service employees charged in $80M fraud scheme
The Department of Justice has charged four individuals for allegedly stealing U.S. Treasury checks from postal facilities. The post Former Postal Service employees charged in $80M fraud scheme appeared first on FreightWaves.
Federal authorities in Philadelphia apprehended and charged four individuals accused of executing a multimillion-dollar postal fraud scheme. The suspects allegedly orchestrated a plot to steal and resell U.S. Treasury checks.
According to a superseding indictment, the operation spanned from June 2023 to September 2024, during which time Tauheed Tucker, 23, and Saahir Irby, 27, both employed as U.S. Postal Service mail processing clerks at the Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center, reportedly stole thousands of envelopes containing U.S. Treasury checks from mail sorting machines. The checks were then allegedly sold to two other defendants.
Investigators contend that Cory Scott, 25, and Alexander Telewoda, 25, advertised the stolen financial instruments via Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging app, where they found interested buyers nationwide. They mailed the checks to buyers, who attempted to cash them without the knowledge of people to whom the checks had been originally issued.
The combined face value of the stolen Treasury checks exceeded $80 million. Scott’s and Telewoda’s customers managed to collect approximately $11 million worth of these stolen checks at financial institutions.
Irby faces an additional charge related to another mail theft incident in August 2024. If convicted, Irby could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Tucker, Scott, and Telewoda each face potential 20-year sentences and $750,000 fines.
The investigation was a concerted effort involving the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. Local law enforcement agencies also assisted in the investigation.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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The post Former Postal Service employees charged in $80M fraud scheme appeared first on FreightWaves.
