Ohio Postal Employee indicted for mail theft
Press Release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District Of Ohio
Rural Carrier Associate indicted for mail theft
June 2, 2011 – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Joni R. Smith, age 35, of Mogadore, Ohio, with theft of mail by a postal employee and unauthorized opening of mail by a postal employee, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that on February 23, 2011, Joni R. Smith, a Rural Carrier Associate assigned to the Rootstown Post Office, Rootstown, Ohio, opened and stole 63 first-class letters and their contents which had come into her possession to be conveyed by mail.
The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Sassé after investigation by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Part-Time Flexible Postal Clerk indicted for misappropriation of funds
June 2, 2011 – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Carey Burlinski, age 47 of Chesterland, Ohio, with making false entries in postal records by a postal employee and misappropriation of funds by a postal employee, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.
The indictment alleges that on February 23, 2011, Carey Burlinski, a part time flexible clerk at the Chagrin Falls Post Office, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, converted postal funds to his own use and made false record entries relating to his window stamp sale transactions.
The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Sassé after investigation by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Texas letter carrier gets prison and must pay $244,320 for theft of mail
Filed under: letter carriers, postal, postal news, press releases
Dallas, Texas letter carrier pleaded guilty to 86 Treasury checks from the mail at the Juanita Craft Station, with an intended loss of of $323,742.
The following is a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas:
DALLAS, Texas — At a sentencing hearing held yesterday afternoon, Tobian McRuffin, of Glenn Heights, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 37 months in prison, following his guilty plea in January 2011 to one count of theft of mail matter by a postal service employee, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Solis also ordered that McRuffin pay $244,320 in restitution and surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 15, 2011.
McRuffin’s co-defendant, Roscoe Hill, aka “Peco,” of Dallas, pleaded guilty in January 2011 to one count of possessing stolen mail. He remains on bond; a sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to plea documents filed in the case, in April 2008, while he worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier out of the Juanita Craft Postal Station in Dallas, McRuffin stole three U.S. Treasury checks from the mail. Also, in April 2008, Hill possessed eight U.S. Treasury checks, totaling more than $38,000, which he knew had been stolen from the U.S. mail.
According to testimony at yesterday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Solis held McRuffin responsible for stealing 86 Treasury checks from the mail at the Juanita Craft Station, with an intended loss of $323,742.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Fahey was in charge of the prosecution.
Former Oklahoma Postmaster Gets Prison And Ordered To Pay USPS $643,604 For Embezzlement
Former Elgin, OK Postmaster must pay the U.S. Postal Service $643,604.49 and IRS $129,061.66 for a total of $771,666.15. The former Postmaster was sentenced to 37
months in federal prison for theft of public funds from the United States Postal Service and for filing a false tax return.
The following is a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Today, JAMES E. DRAHEIM, 63, from Elgin, Oklahoma, was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti to serve 37 months in federal prison for theft of public funds from the United States Postal Service and for filing a false tax return, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. In addition, Judge DeGiusti ordered Draheim to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term and pay restitution of $643,604.49 the Postal Service and $129,061.66 to the IRS.
Draheim was employed as the Postmaster in Elgin, Oklahoma, and from October 2005 through September 2009 used his position of trust to embezzle from the United States Postal Service.
Specifically, Draheim took money paid by postal customers for bulk mailings, failed to credit the customer’s account for the full amount of the check, and then embezzled the difference by purchasing money orders in his own name which he then used for his own personal benefit.
Draheim pled guilty on September 28, 2010, to theft of public funds and filing a false tax return for the 2008 tax year.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Criminal Investigative Division of the Internal Revenue Service.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vicki Zemp Behenna.
Bronx, NY Letter Carrier found guilty in tax refund fraud scheme
Bronx, New York Letter Carrier helped steal over $2.5 million worth of fraudulent tax refund checks
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued the following press release:
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ROBERT ANTHONY WARREN was found guilty following a one-week jury trial in Manhattan federal court for his role in a scheme to fraudulently generate millions of dollars in federal tax refund checks and to steal the checks from the U.S. mail. U.S. Circuit Judge DENNY CHIN presided over the trial.
According to the evidence presented at trial and other documents filed in the case:
WARREN was charged as part of an investigation into a massive tax and mail theft scheme. As part of the scheme, co-conspirators operating out of the Dominican Republic electronically filed thousands of fraudulent federal tax returns, seeking tens of millions of dollars in tax refund checks. The fraudulent returns were filed using Social Security numbers and other identifying information stolen from residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Participants in the scheme targeted Social Security numbers assigned to residents of Puerto Rico because they are generally not required to file federal tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), so long as their income derives solely from Puerto Rican sources. In this way, the fraudsters minimized the risk that legitimate federal tax returns were already filed by the owners of the Social Security numbers they were using in the scheme.
Each of the tax returns at issue falsely represented that the taxpayer on the return resided at an address in the Bronx, where the refund check requested in the return would be sent. The checks were then collected by mail carriers assigned to the mail routes where the checks were sent. The mail carriers participating in the scheme were paid a kickback for each check they collected. The carriers passed the checks on to other coconspirators, who cashed them at various banks and check-cashing businesses located in the United States and the Dominican Republic.
Since 1993, WARREN has been a mail carrier employed by the U.S. Postal Service at Tremont Post Office in the Bronx. He was recruited into the tax scheme in 2007. From July 2007 until May 2008, WARREN collected at least 256 fraudulent refund checks that were sent to his mail route as part of the scheme. He was paid a $100 kickback for each check that he stole. Each check was worth, on average, close to $10,000. In all, WARREN helped steal over $2.5 million worth of fraudulent tax refund checks. He made at least $25,000 in kickbacks from the scheme.
WARREN, 46, of the Bronx, New York, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge CHIN on September 13, 2011, at 10 a.m. He faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison.
Mr. BHARARA praised the work of IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and thanked them for their work in this case.
This case was prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys SERRIN TURNER, MICHAEL A. LEVY,and DANIEL W. LEVY, are in charge of the prosecution.
Ohio Letter Carrier Indicted For Mail Theft
March 9, 2011
A federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland returned a two-count indictment charging Chrisoula Pipilakis, age 33, of Akron, Ohio, with embezzling mail and unauthorized opening of mail, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.
The indictment alleges that from November 1, 2010, until on or about November 17, 2010, Chrisoula Pipilakis, then a Postal Service letter carrier a the Firestone and Five Points Post Office Stations, located in Akron, Ohio, did open and steal the contents from several letters, including gift cards and correspondence, which had come into her possession for delivery to persons residing in Akron, Ohio.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Duane J. Deskins, following an investigation by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Postal Supervisor Charged With Conspiracy To Defraud USPS Of More than $300,000
Birmingham, Alabama Postal Service Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor and Two Vendors Charged in Billing Fraud
April 12, 2011 BIRMINGHAM – A vehicle maintenance supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service and two maintenance vendors have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to defraud the Postal Service of more than $300,000 in a billing kick-back scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s Major Fraud Investigations Division Special Agent in Charge Torri Piper, and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Reginael McDaniel.
Charges were unsealed today charging CEDRIC NALLS, a supervisor at the Postal Service Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Birmingham, and vendors WILLIAM MARK PAYTON, 44, and ALLEN JOSEPH LAW, 38, with conspiring to submit fraudulent invoices and to conceal payment on the false invoices.
A federal grand jury in March returned a 56-count indictment against Nalls, 41, of Birmingham, charging him with mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the Postal Service through payment on false claims and conspiracy to conceal payments he received through the scheme. Read more
Minnesota Postal carrier indicted for stealing cash and gift cards from mail
The following is a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota:
A federal indictment, unsealed earlier today in St. Paul, charges a postal carrier with stealing approximately $4,000 in cash and gift cards from the mail she delivered.
The indictment, which was filed on March 16, 2011, charges Michelle Lynn Bressette, age 43, of Jordan, with one count of theft of mail by postal employee. The indictment was unsealed following Bressette’s initial appearance in federal court. The indictment alleges that from December of 2009 through October 21, 2010, Bressette, an employee of the Prior Lake Post Office, stole money and gift cards from the mail.
If convicted, Bressette faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an
investigation by the United States Postal Service-Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
Maine postal employee accused of stealing drugs from mail
HOULTON, Maine — A 32-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service was arrested and charged on Monday with multiple drug offenses after police said that he stole prescription medications that were supposed to be delivered to local residents.
Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin said Tuesday that Joey Skehan, 57, of Houlton has been charged with five counts of stealing drugs and two counts of unlawful possession of a Schedule W drug. All of the crimes took place while he was employed as a postal worker and the thefts took place at the U.S. post office on Court Street in Houlton, the chief said.
The investigation began last July and Skehan became a suspect last October, according to Asselin. Houlton police Officer Kris Calaman and an agent from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Skehan’s activities at the post office were monitored periodically using video surveillance at an undisclosed location.
Skehan, who arrived for work at about 5 a.m., often sorted the incoming mail, according to police. Asselin said that Skehan would observe the packages sent from the VHA, scan them but not place the notices in the addressee’s post office box. Skehan then allegedly would take the medications from the post office when he went home later in the afternoon.
full story: Bangor Daily News
Owner Of Houston Pre-sort Company Found Guilty Of Stealing Millions From USPS
One of the largest counterfeit postage loss in the history of the U. S. Postal Service
The following is a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District Texas
(HOUSTON) – The former owner of one of the largest mail presort operations in the Houston area has been found guilty by jury of conspiring to and committing mail fraud and possessing and using counterfeit postage meter machines to affix counterfeit postage in his mass mailing businesses, resulting in millions of lost revenue to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) over a four-year period, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno and U. S. Postal Inspector-in-Charge Gary Barksdale announced today.
Neal Uy Lim, 50, of Missouri City, Texas, was convicted of all counts –conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and four counts of possession of counterfeit postage meter machines –arising from a scheme to possess and use counterfeit postage meter machines to apply postage in excess of amounts actually paid to the USPS. The verdicts were returned yesterday following a five day trial and three and one-half hours of deliberation.
Lim owned three companies – Gulf Coast Presort, Inc., located at 1005 Ennis Street, Houston, Texas, one of the largest presort business in Houston; Mail Processing Center, Inc., 10835 Seaboard Loop, Houston, Texas; and a satellite office located at 5940 N. Sam Houston Parkway East, Suite 315, Humble, Texas These businesses operated as third-party mailers and/or pre-sort bureaus that make money by doing big mass mailings for clients and getting discounts from the post office for sorting the mail. Clients of Neal Lim’s companies included the county offices, financial institutions, and other area businesses.
During trial, the jury heard testimony establishing that Lim purchased Mail Processing Center, Inc. in 1992. Lim had been the owner of Gulf Coast Presort, Inc, since November, 2002. The satellite office was opened in 2005. Through a statistical mail sampling process, the U.S. Postal Service determined that the amount of mail observed being processed by the U.S. Postal Service for Lim’s companies exceeded the amount of pre-paid postage available on the postage meter machines licensed to Lim’s companies.
Jurors heard testimony that thereafter, agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, began to monitor the mailings and metered postage paid for Lim’s companies. Upon doing so, the Postal Service continued to observe additional discrepancies between the amount of mail processed and the amount of postage paid. Jurors heard testimony and reviewed documentary evidence which showed a declining amount of postage paid by Lim from 2003 – 2007, with no change in mail volume. Discrepancies between the amount of mail processed and the amount of postage paid resulted in millions of dollars in revenue loss to the U.S. Postal Service.
“Mailers in the U.S. enjoy some of the lowest cost postage in the world, so we take fraud against the Postal Service very seriously,” said Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge in Houston. “We aggressively pursue individuals or companies who make the mistake of committing these crimes. The jury’s verdict finding Lim guilty on all charges should send a strong message to anyone considering fraud against the U.S. Postal Service.”
Three of Lim’s five co-defendants and former employees testified during trial telling the jury about Lim’s participation in a scheme to create counterfeit postage meter machines to print counterfeit postage on mass mail processed by his presort companies. Jurors also heard testimony that Lim’s businesses collected additional millions in postal refunds for presorting based on the illegitimate postage. Lim and his co-defendants illegitimately obtained meters which they modified so they would produce counterfeit postage. The businesses collected postage from their mailing customers but didn’t pay the post office. The businesses would then collect a refund from the post office for having pre-sorted the illegally-metered mail.
United States District Judge Nancy F. Atlas, who presided over the trial, has set sentencing for Lim for April 26, 2011. Lim faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment on the conspiracy to commit mail fraud conviction, 20 years on the two substantive mail fraud convictions, five years on each count of the possession of counterfeit postage meter machines convictions, and millions of dollars in forfeiture and/or restitution and/or fines of $250,000 as to each count of conviction.
Lim’s five co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and are also pending sentencing. Each of them faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000. Lim and his co-defendants have been permitted to remain on bond pending their sentencing hearings.
The case was tried by Special Assistant United States Attorney Tammie Y. Moore and Assistant United States Attorney Bertram A. Isaacs.
Three New York Postal Employees Charged With Stealing Money
Filed under: legal cases, postal, postal clerks, postal news, press releases, usps
Three Postal Employees from the Post Office in Locust Valley, New York have been arrested and charged with stealing money while on the job.
According to the press release:
MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that three United States Postal employees from the Locust Valley Post Office have been arrested and charged with stealing money while on the job.
John D. Klick, 52, of Greenvale; Roberto Bardales, 35, of Whitestone; and Warren Wojciechowski, 56, of Glen Cove, were arrested on January 20 and charged with one count each of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and Petit Larceny. All three defendants face up to four years in prison. Klick is due back in court on March 2 and Bardales and Wojciechowski are due back on March 3.
The arrests were made with the assistance of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Rice said that the defendants stole money by ringing up customer purchase amounts that were less than the actual purchase price, also called “short-ringing.” The defendants sometimes made no entry at all for a purchase and pocketed the cash.
Klick is alleged to have taken $166.80; Bardales is alleged to have taken $456.74 and Wojciechowski is alleged to have taken a total of $818.06 in cash.
Deputy Chief William Wallace of the Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the cases for the DA’s Office. John D. Klick is represented by Robert Schalk, Esq.; Roberto Bardales by Danielle Papa; and Warren Wojciechowski by Paul Berko, Esq