9/10/24 – U.S. v. Miguel Bridges and U.S. v. Jaleesa Bridges and Ryan Bridges – Miguel Bridges, 34, of Charlotte, worked as a postal employee at a mail distribution center in Charlotte. Today, he pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit offense against the United States for stealing cell phones from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and selling them for profit. Jaleesa Bridges, 36, of Charlotte, and Ryan Bridges, 32, of Florence, South Carolina, were charged separately in August 2024, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and possession of stolen mail. Their charges are still pending. According to allegations in the charging documents, Miguel Bridges took advantage of his position as a postal employee to open mail parcels and steal cellular phones, which he and his co-conspirators then sold to ecoATM automated kiosks and other locations, as well as to third parties. During the conspiracy, it is alleged that more than 1,400 stolen cell phones were sold for approximately $400,000.