OIG OPERATING STATUS

DUE TO A LAPSE IN GOVERNMENT FUNDING, ALL NON-EXCEPTED OIG EMPLOYEES ARE FURLOUGHED AND MUST CEASE ALL OIG WORK-RELATED ACTIVITIES.

This website will not be monitored or updated until full operations resume.
Your interest in the efficiency of Postal Service programs is important to us. Our Hotline remains operational, and you may still submit your concern and it will be reviewed.

You may also submit FOIA requests, however we cannot respond until the government reopens.

Investigative News Releases

Working with our Law Enforcement Partners

Our special agents investigate nationwide internal crimes and fraud committed by postal employees and contractors as well as postal employee misconduct. We work with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and local prosecutors across the country to prosecute these crimes.

In some instances, we uncover much larger criminal activity being carried out by multiple individuals and organizations. In many of these cases, we partner with other federal and local law enforcement agencies to identify and hold responsible those who take advantage of the public’s trust in our postal system.

Below are links to the most recent news releases about our work.

Former Postal Employee Sentenced After Firing Shotgun at Federal Reserve Bank

Date Released: 05/10/2019

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the sentencing of CHRISTOPHER DOUGLAS WOOD, 43, to eight months of confinement after firing three shotgun rounds at the Federal Reserve Bank building in downtown Minneapolis. WOOD, who pleaded guilty on December 17, 2018, was sentenced before Chief Judge John R. Tunheim in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on the night of July 21, 2018, during the...

Man Sentenced for Cashing More Than $60,000 in Stolen Postal Money Orders

Date Released: 05/08/2019

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that James Lebel, 40, formerly of Brooklyn, Connecticut, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for cashing more than $60,000 in stolen postal money orders. According to court documents and statements made in court, Lebel was married to Michelle Barbeau, who was employed by the U.S. Postal Service at the...

Woman Sentenced for Stealing Over $180,000 From USPS

Date Released: 05/07/2019

DENVER – Lorrine Kimmel, age 48, of Weld County, Colorado, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel to serve 15 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years on supervised release for defrauding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) by mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge of the Western Area Field Office John D. Masters announced today. The defendant was also ordered to pay $188,575 in restitution...

Former Postal Carrier Sentenced to Prison

Date Released: 04/23/2019

Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Richard Huntington (45, Lakeland) to 120 days in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Huntington was also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his imprisonment. He had pleaded guilty on January 11, 2019. This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James C. Preston, Jr.

Former Mail Carrier Receives One Year Probation for Embezzling Mail

Date Released: 04/22/2019

United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Devon J. Donald, a 26-year-old resident of Mobile, Alabama was sentenced to one year of probation after conviction for embezzling from the U.S. mail. On January 17, 2019, Donald entered a guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement and admitted in open court that from on or about December 9, 2017, and continuing through on or about February 20, 2018, Donald was a mail carrier employed by the United States...