SC mail handler gets 5 years for stealing checks following USPS investigation
A South Carolina mail handler is going to prison after the United States Postal Service found he was stealing personal checks and selling them, according to a recent news release.
A national bank contacted the USPS Office of Inspector General in June 2024 after clients in the Myrtle Beach area reported that their business checks were swiped from the mail, then adulterated and sold for cash online.
Agents with the Inspector General launched an internal investigation. Using mail theft detecting patterns, they narrowed down the location of the theft to a large mail processing plant in West Columbia, according to a report. Then, they caught the mail handler in action, rifling through the mail, choosing specific envelopes and stuffing them into his clothing. The handler had about 25 pieces of stolen mail in his waistband.
The report did not identify the mail handler.
Following his arrest, the mail handler confessed to stealing checks for about five months and selling them on the streets for small amounts of cash. According to the Inspector General, agents “knew there was more to the story” because some checks were being sold on social media, and there were “large cash deposits” in his bank account.
The mail handler eventually plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison and another fiver years of supervision after he is release. The court also ordered him to return more than $200,000 to his victims.
Further details about the case and the arrest were lacking. The State has reached out to the USPS for more information.
Those who suspect mail theft involving USPS employees or contractors are encouraged to make a report using the Inspector General’s hotline at https://hotlineform.uspsoig.gov/en-US/.
