A federal grand jury has indicted a Buffalo man on charges tied to a scheme to steal mail and checks from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, federal prosecutors said. The charges include conspiracy to commit mail theft, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York said the indictment charges Jaquan Greene, 20. Prosecutors said the charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison; the indictment is an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
According to the indictment, Greene conspired with others from Feb. 18 through April 23 to unlawfully obtain Postal Service keys that open mail collection boxes. Prosecutors say the group used the keys to steal mail, including checks.
Members of the alleged conspiracy deposited stolen checks into bank accounts they controlled, then withdrew or transferred the money for their own benefit, prosecutors said.
The indictment says Greene possessed checks stolen from collection boxes on Cayuga Road in Cheektowaga. Those checks were deposited into a Citizens Bank account controlled by members of the group, according to prosecutors.
On April 23, Greene and two others drove to a collection box on Cayuga Road and used a stolen key to open it, the indictment says. They removed a basket containing letters, packages and other mail.
When law enforcement arrived, the three fled first in a vehicle and then on foot, prosecutors said. They were taken into custody a short time later.
Greene made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Roemer and was detained. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sasha Mascarenhas and Paul Bonanno are prosecuting the case following an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Boston Division.
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