ST. LOUIS – A former U.S. Postal Service mail handler on Wednesday admitted committing pandemic fraud and stealing checks from hundreds of pieces of mail.

Anthony Virdure II, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of mail theft and one count of wire fraud.

On Dec. 1, 2023, U.S. Postal Inspectors were called to the Hazelwood Police Department to examine 30 stolen checks that were found in a rental vehicle when it was returned. The postal inspectors determined that the checks had been routed through the St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center at 1720 Market Street in St. Louis, where Virdure worked as a mail handler. He had access to all first-class mail routed through the center. Virdure’s fingerprints were found on one check that he’d removed from a letter that he’d stolen.

On Jan. 3, 2024, the Frontenac Police Department contacted postal inspectors about checks that had been left behind when a tenant vacated an apartment in St. Louis. All the checks had been routed through the Processing and Distribution Center where Virdure worked, and his fingerprints were found on one of the checks.

On April 30, 2024, law enforcement agents conducted a court-approved search of an apartment and found 298 more stolen checks, many with Virdure’s fingerprints.

The total value of the checks stolen by the defendant was $68,486.

In addition to the theft of the checks, Virdure admitted fraudulently applying for and receiving a $20,832 Pandemic Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2021 for a tobacco store called Virdure Dynamics. Virdure admitted falsely claiming that he was the sole proprietor of the store, which he falsely claimed had a gross income of $100,000.

Virdure is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30. The wire fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. The mail theft charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and the same fine. He will also be required to repay the money.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Frontenac Police Department and the Hazelwood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.