If it’s June, it’s time once again to share the results of our Spring Semiannual Report to Congress or SARC. We have been working diligently to promote the integrity, accountability, and efficiency of the U.S. Postal Service and its regulator, the Postal Regulatory Commission, and have achieved significant milestones in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year. 

A big focus of our work is identifying inefficiencies, fraud, waste, and abuse, and our financial impact — over $410 million from our audits and investigations over six months — reflects it! Of that, $13.4 million was returned to the Postal Service.  

We continued our journey of leveraging data analytics — and even started venturing into using artificial intelligence — to make our audits and investigations more efficient and effective. This has been especially useful in our efforts to identify and stop mail fraud and narcotics in the mail, including a check theft ring responsible for stealing more than $24 million worth of U.S. Treasury and business checks from the mailstream as well as a $1 million drug trafficking scheme. You can read about these and other investigative highlights in our Spring SARC.  

Our audits covered a wide range of topics, with many focused on the Postal Service’s Delivery for America initiatives. USPS has stabilized operations in its newer facilities, but challenges remain with leadership instability, misaligned transportation schedules, and low employee availability. We also found the Postal Service’s pilot on how it picks up mail — the Local Transportation Optimization initiative — led to service delays, especially in rural areas. When we identify a problem, we provide actionable solutions through our recommendations. Take a moment and read about these reports as well as reports focused on USPS’s service performance, and its efforts to modernize the delivery fleet. Pressed for time? Read our interactive version. 

Overall, the OIG’s work during the first half of FY 2025 has had a profound impact on the Postal Service and the American public. Our efforts have ensured that the Postal Service operates with integrity, efficiency, and accountability.