The conspiracy lasted 18 months and involved the postmen who stole credit cards and other financial instruments from the mail to sell them for cash or other items, the U.S. law firm in the Northern District of Illinois said.
Two of the defendants were even given social security numbers and people’s dates of birth, allowing them to activate the stolen credit cards and use them at stores like Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, Walmart and Meijer, prosecutors said.
Three Chicago women – Rebecca Okunoren, 28, Monique Love, 29, and Dominique Sykes, 28 – are among the former mail carriers accused of conspiring to steal mail and commit unauthorized fraud with access devices, prosecutors said. The other two postmen charged are 32-year-old Jessica Jefferson from Broadview and 34-year-old Myiesha Weaver from College Park, Georgia.
Six more Chicago residents were also charged with the conspiracy to steal mail. They are:
Davey Hines, 28;
Billye Harris, 26;
Terrance Scales, 29;
Stephon Johnson, 33;
Loreal Ross, 31; and
Brittnay Shepard, 28.
Hines, Harris, Johnson and Ross were also charged with unauthorized access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said.
“These arrests represent our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to maintain the integrity and trust of the US mail,” said Andre Martin, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Great Lakes Area Field Office of the US Postal Service. . “The majority of postmen are hard-working civil servants who move the mail to the correct destination.”
Several of the defendants were arrested on Thursday and have already started appearing in court, prosecutors said.
The federal investigation, called Operation Cash on Delivery, has already led to charges against five other people last summer, including four former USPS employees.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire – Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2021.)