Federal prosecutors have charged five Houston residents, including three U.S. Postal Service mail carriers, in an alleged conspiracy involving approximately $24 million in checks stolen from the mail.
The indictment announced on August 25 alleges that postal employees stole checks along their delivery routes before selling them on Telegram and shipping them to buyers. One defendant remained out of custody when prosecutors announced the charges.
Postal Carriers Allegedly Recruited to Steal Checks
The defendants were identified as Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, 28; Malcolm Tiree Joubert, 35; Alyssa Nadine Bryant, 27; Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick, 29; and Drakkor Jamar Alexander, 34.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Vaughn allegedly recruited Postal Service mail carriers to steal checks from mail they handled along their routes.
Prosecutors allege that Vaughn and others purchased the stolen checks from postal employees and resold them to buyers using Telegram, a cloud-based messaging platform. The checks were then shipped to the purchasers, according to the indictment.
Kilpatrick, Joubert, and Alexander were working as Postal Service mail carriers when Vaughn allegedly recruited them, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department did not disclose how many checks were allegedly stolen, how the $24 million figure was calculated, whether all the checks were successfully negotiated, or how much money was ultimately lost by victims and financial institutions.
Kilpatrick appeared in federal court on August 24. Vaughn, Joubert, and Bryant were scheduled to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Y. Ho on August 25. Alexander had not been taken into custody when the Justice Department issued its announcement.
Defendants Face Up to 30 Years
All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. If convicted, each could face up to 30 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $1 million.
Kilpatrick, Joubert, and Alexander also face charges of theft by a postal employee. That offense carries a possible five-year prison term and a maximum fine of $250,000.
An indictment is an accusation and does not establish guilt. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty through the judicial process.
The investigation involved the FBI, the Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Treasury Department Office of Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Houston and Stafford. Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Moyer is prosecuting the case.
Mail Theft Extends Beyond Houston
The Houston indictment follows repeated mail-theft cases in North Texas.
The Dallas Express reported in February that Dallas police investigating a stolen Mercedes discovered evidence allegedly connected to mail theft. A separate Dallas Express report documented complaints from Oak Lawn residents who said their mail had been repeatedly stolen.
In another North Texas case, a Fort Worth man pleaded guilty to concealing a Postal Service “arrow key” stolen from a mail carrier, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Arrow keys can open multiple blue collection boxes and centralized mail receptacles.
The Postal Service previously announced plans to replace tens of thousands of older arrow locks with electronic locks. Criminals have targeted mail carriers to obtain the keys and access checks and other valuable documents, according to the agency’s Project Safe Delivery initiative.
How Consumers Can Protect Checks
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service recommends depositing outgoing mail before the last scheduled collection or taking it inside a post office. Consumers should retrieve incoming mail promptly and avoid leaving it in a residential mailbox overnight, according to the agency’s check-washing guidance.
The agency also recommends using indelible black ink, leaving no blank spaces in the payee or amount fields, and avoiding writing Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and other unnecessary personal information on checks.
Businesses can ask their banks about “positive pay” services, which compare checks submitted for payment against information supplied by the account holder. The Postal Inspection Service also recommends confirming that checks reached their intended recipients and promptly investigating outstanding payments, according to its joint check-fraud guidance with the American Bankers Association Foundation.
Suspected mail theft can be reported online or by calling the Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455. Suspected theft or tampering by Postal Service employees may also be reported to the Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Provided by Dallas Express
