OIG – 10/14/26 – The Coast Guard Investigative Service and Homeland Security Investigations had been following an alleged fraud ring in the Los Angeles, CA, area for some time. The allegations ranged from counterfeit documents to stolen checks, to stolen debit cards from the state’s unemployment insurance program, as well as other forms of fraud.

Several individuals were on investigators’ radar, including a man suspected of heading the operation. And the damages? Substantial: hundreds of stolen checks and debit cards with losses in the millions.

When investigators suspected postal employees were also complicit, they contacted our Office of Investigations. Our special agents quickly identified two carrier technicians who worked at a post office — the financial instruments’ last stop before they disappeared from the mailstream. They also identified another suspect: a woman who took her husband’s place in the scheme after he passed away. Finally, our special agents expanded the investigation by calling on their partners at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

During an interview with our special agents, one employee said he had been approached several years back by the ringleader, who proposed stealing mail in exchange for cash. The employee began stealing pandemic relief checks not only from the mail on his delivery route, but also from other sources within the postal system that wouldn’t arouse much suspicion. The other employee’s story was similar, and both had been stealing checks for about four years before investigators caught up with them.

The OIG and USPIS executed simultaneous federal search warrants on the employees’ homes, vehicles, and electronic devices. Investigators found evidence of illicit transactions with other accomplices, including an image of a deposit receipt for a single U.S. Treasury check totaling more than $7.3 million.

All four suspects were arrested and criminally charged, and the two employees were each sentenced to five and a half years in prison. The court also ordered each of them to return over $1.6 million to their victims. The ringleader and his female accomplice are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

If you suspect or know of mail theft involving Postal Service employees or contractors, please report it to our Hotline.