Nakedra Shannon, a postal worker, along with Donnell Gardner and Desiray Carter, has been arrested and charged in a major fraud operation involving the theft of checks worth $24 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced that the trio is facing charges of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and theft of government property. This case highlights a significant breach of trust and security within the postal system.
According to prosecutors, Shannon, aged 29, abused her position as a mail processing clerk from April to July 2023 to intercept checks from both incoming and outgoing mail. She subsequently passed these checks to Gardner and Carter, who are accused of selling them through a Telegram channel. The stolen checks include over $8 million in U.S. Treasury checks, indicating the scale and severity of the fraud.
In addition to the conspiracy and theft charges, Carter and Gardner face seven counts of possession of stolen mail matter, while Shannon faces eight counts of theft of mail by a postal employee. The Justice Department’s investigation revealed the elaborate nature of this scheme, which led to a substantial financial loss. If convicted on all counts, Shannon, Gardner, and Carter could face many years in prison, reflecting the serious nature of their alleged crimes and the potential consequences of abusing positions of trust within government institutions.
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