Investigative News Releases

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A former U.S. mail carrier was sentenced to prison today for participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud involving mail she stole from her postal route, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Kiara Padgett, 31, of Charlotte, was ordered to serve a six-month active prison sentence followed by six months of home detention.

MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Ashley Straub, 25, Onalaska, Wisconsin, was sentenced February 5, 2026, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita M. Boor to one year of probation and a $500 fine for opening and destroying mail. Judge Boor also ordered Straub to pay restitution to the known victims.

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey woman was charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in unemployment funds while working for the United States Postal Service, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.

AKRON, Ohio – As a result of an ongoing investigation into the criminal activities of a former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) worker, a Summit County man now faces additional accusations in a highly coordinated conspiracy to award USPS contracts to specific business entities.

BOSTON – A New Hampshire man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to obstruction and video voyeurism charges. Nicholas Testagrossa, 43, of Rindge, N.H., pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding, and two counts of video voyeurism. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2026. Testagrossa was charged in December 2025.