Something was amiss — and the whistleblower knew it. They contacted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which referred the allegation to our Office of Investigations.

The person alleged a Postal Service employee at a Long Island City, NY, post office was cashing an inordinate number of U.S. Treasury checks at her window. It was far from tax season, so was it just a coincidence?

Our special agents scoured countless records and employed investigative techniques that not only proved the employee was cashing checks without permission or authority to do so — they also caught her in the act.

The evidence showed the employee cashing the stolen checks at her window when no one was there, or even while she was handling separate financial transactions with customers. She documented the transactions with fake ID numbers or information she stole from customers when they showed their identification to pick up mail. And she wasn’t just cashing and stealing the proceeds from Treasury checks: she was also illegally cashing Postal Money Orders. 

However, the numbers didn’t add up — sure, the employee had access to a lot of mail at her workstation, but how could she alone be handling that many Treasury checks at any given time?

The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration joined the investigation, which went on to uncover two other employees at the same post office were in on the scheme: another sales associate was also cashing Treasury checks and money orders at her window, and a mail carrier was helping profile and rifle through envelopes believed to be carrying the classic green-and-yellow checks.

By the time they were arrested, the band of three, together with others, stole over 150 financial instruments with a total value of almost $320,000. All three co-conspirators pleaded guilty and the head of the scheme — the first suspect investigators identified — resigned from the Postal Service and was sentenced to two years’ probation. USPS terminated the other two accomplices’ employment and each of them was sentenced to nine months’ home confinement to be served during two years’ supervised release.

This investigation returned almost $570,000 combined to the victims, plus over $220,000 in combined forfeited assets. The successful prosecution and substantial restitution highlight the real impact of the USPS OIG’s efforts to safeguard postal operations, customer funds, and the reputation of one of the nation’s most trusted government agencies.

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

Did You Know?

Among its various government services like processing U.S. passport application, the Postal Service cashes checks of any amount as long as there’s enough cash in the till to cover them. Customers must present two forms of identification to verify they’re authorized to cash a check.

Services like these aren’t just useful, especially in rural communities — they’re also a source of revenue for the Postal Service. If you’d like to learn more about this and other government services USPS could offer in the future, check out our latest white paper.

By pursuing a thorough and intricate investigation, the USPS OIG ensured those responsible were held accountable and returned significant losses to victims. This demonstrated the critical role our oversight plays in neutralizing financial threats to the Postal Service and its customers.

– Tammy L. Hull,
Inspector General, 
U.S. Postal Service