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Investigative Press Release
Feb
18
2022

Letter Carrier Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Bank and Mail Fraud Conspiracy

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Johnson B. Ogunlana, age 25, of Edgewood, Maryland, to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of mail by a postal employee. As part of his sentencing, Ogunlana has been ordered to pay $232,588 in restitution.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Imari R. Niles of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; and Postal Inspector in Charge Greg Torbenson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division.

According to his plea agreement, Ogunlana was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Brooklyn, Maryland. Ogunlana knew that his duties and responsibilities as a letter carrier included handling, sorting, collecting, and delivering letter and parcel mail to postal customers residing and conducting business on his assigned postal delivery routes, and preserving and protecting the security of all mail in his custody.

Between July 25, 2016 and February 5, 2019, Ogunlana, and his co-conspirator Samson A. Oguntuyi, age 29, of Atlanta, Georgia conspired with others to steal bank checks and credit and debit cards from the mail, open fraudulent business banking accounts using the names of victim businesses and the stolen identities of victim postal customers to negotiate the stolen checks by depositing them into the fraudulent bank accounts, and then conduct transactions with stolen payment cards and with money derived from the stolen checks.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their work in the investigation and thanked the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for its assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Davio, who is prosecuting the case.