She saw an opportunity and took it. Not once, not twice — but almost 130 times. Her biggest mistake was thinking she could get away with it.

When the Postal Service brought the complaint to our Office of Investigations, things didn’t add up at a Massachusetts post office. An internal audit there had turned up multiple replacement money orders a clerk had allegedly issued to an unknown individual. The first audit turned up 18 such money orders. A second audit six days later found 13 more.

Our special agents worked with postal management and local law enforcement to look for patterns: All these transactions were cost-free replacement money orders, which USPS issues at customers’ requests when money orders are damaged or have errors. All were issued by the same clerk. Most of the money orders were issued to the same man, whom local law enforcement found worked at a funeral home in the area. But some money orders were issued to different people — people who either didn’t exist or didn’t live at the addresses written on the money orders.

During an interview with our special agents, the suspected clerk was all half truths and full lies: She said she never issued replacement money orders without a customer present. She admitted to being friends with the man in question but denied ever giving or issuing him money orders — or receiving any proceeds from him. She outright denied taking any funds for personal gain. Confused about being questioned, she told our special agents she had done her job to the best of her ability. 

But by that time, all had been brought to light: Our special agents had seen evidence showing the clerk issuing replacement money orders — sometimes alone, sometimes while tending to customers — over 50 times. She hid the money orders in her purse, her pockets, and her filing cabinet. She was also seen arriving in her flashy, bubblegum pink car at two check cashing businesses nearby, which cashed every money order she stole. And the man to whom she wrote the money orders? He turned out to be her boyfriend. By the time she was held to account, the clerk had pocketed almost $97,000.

Facing extenuating circumstances, our special agents went above and beyond to help the District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecute the case. The Postal Service terminated the employee and the case met an unexpected twist: the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General joined the investigation, finding the clerk had also committed CARES Act fraud by collecting fraudulent unemployment assistance in 2020.

For further reading:

Department of Justice (via uspsoig.gov), U.S. Postal Service Employee Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Nearly $90,000 Worth of Postal Money Orders and Wire Fraud