A former worker for america Postal Service (USPS) has been sentenced for stealing money and present playing cards from in-transit greeting playing cards.
As a result of the USPS is a federal company, mail theft of any variety is taken into account a felony, whatever the financial worth of the stolen merchandise. The legislation additionally applies to these employed by the postal service, as employees are forbidden from eradicating or tampering with something inside a bit of mail.
In both case, if convicted, mail theft can lead to a most jail sentence of 5 years, together with a high quality.
Based on a Tuesday information launch from the U.S. Division of Justice, Southern District of Illinois, 31-year-old Casey L. Neal of Belle Rive, Illinois, pleaded responsible in October 2021 to stealing present playing cards and money from items of mail.
Neal had been working as an alternative gross sales and distribution clerk at three completely different USPS places—Belle Rive, Dahlgren and Macedonia—on the time of the offenses, which passed off all through January and February 2021.
In whole, the now-former worker stole $300 value of money and present playing cards, which she took from greeting playing cards that handed by the three submit places of work.
Neal would use the pay as you go present playing cards stolen from packages to purchase cash orders. She then used these to “to pay her private collectors,” mentioned the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace.
Based on media studies, Neal particularly used stolen Vanilla Visa present playing cards to finish these transactions.
Investigators discovered of the theft and shortly discovered present playing cards for different retailers and corporations in her possession. Authorities found a complete of eight stolen playing cards, together with one for Dick’s Sporting Items, 4 for Dairy Queen, two for Chick-fil-A, and another pay as you go Vanilla Visa card.
After pleading responsible, Neal was sentenced to 2 years’ probation within the Southern District of Illinois. She can also be required to pay a $220 restitution to her victims.
The USPS has made headlines over the previous a number of days, because the company prepares to ship a complete of 500 million at-home COVID-19 check kits to households throughout the nation. Every U.S. residence is eligible to obtain 4 exams for free of charge.
“The 650,000 men and women of america Postal Service are able to ship and proud to play a vital function in supporting the well being wants of the American public,” mentioned Postmaster Normal Louis DeJoy in a current assertion.
He added: “We have now been working intently with the administration and are nicely ready to just accept and ship check kits on the primary day this system launches.”
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