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 Worker Sentenced for Stealing Mail

Date Released: 09/03/2021

BOSTON – A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for stealing mail, including almost $5,000 in stimulus payments, and making over $16,000 in fraudulent purchases and ATM withdrawals. Angela Gomez, 40, of Lynn, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to three months in prison and three years of supervised release. On May 11, 2021, Gomez pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail by an employee. As part of the plea...

Former Postal Employee Sentenced for Theft of Money Orders

Date Released: 08/26/2021

BANGOR, Maine: A Penobscot County woman was sentenced today in federal court for the theft and conversion of money orders, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced. U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Mellony Hafford, 37, to three years of probation. Hafford was also ordered to pay $4,177 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service. She pleaded guilty in April 2021. The U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax...

Two Plead Guilty in Federal Court to Bank and Mail Fraud Conspiracy and Related Charges

Date Released: 08/25/2021

Baltimore, Maryland – Two Nigerian nationals, Johnson B. Ogunlana, age 25, of Edgewood, Maryland, and Samson A. Oguntuyi, age 29, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial to federal charges related to schemes to defraud financial institutions, retail establishments and other business victims, often using the stolen personal information of individual victims. Specifically, Ogunlana pleaded guilty on August 23, 2021 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud, access device...

Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Mail Theft

Date Released: 08/05/2021

BOSTON – A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to stealing mail containing gift cards. Brian Thibodeau, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for Dec. 13, 2021. Thibodeau was indicted on Feb. 10, 2021. Beginning in 2001, Thibodeau worked as a letter carrier in the Saugus Post Office. In 2020, Thibodeau stole customers’ gift...

Mail Carrier Sentenced for Attempted Election Fraud

Date Released: 06/21/2021

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Thomas Cooper, a mail carrier in Pendleton County, was sentenced today to five years of probation, with the first six months home confinement, for attempted election fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced. Cooper, age 48, of Dry Fork, West Virginia, pled guilty in July 2020 to one count of “Attempt to Defraud the Residents of West Virginia of a Fair Election” and one count of “Injury to the Mail.” Cooper held a U.S. Postal Service contract to deliver...