A US Postal Service worker in Washington, DC, has allegedly stolen nearly USD 1.7 million from its residents.
According to the media, the civil forfeiture filing ordered the seizure of USD 402,669.95 from the bank account, believed to be operated by the US Postal Service worker, Hachikosela Khose Muchimba, at the Friendship Post Office Station.
The officials believe the amount may be less than half of the total amount of fraudulent deposits made across 8 bank accounts.
Furthermore, the filing read that Muchimba deposited around 98 misappropriated checks into those accounts with an aggregate value of USD 1,697,909.52. And at least 90 of those misappropriated checks were US Treasury checks.
Previously, the investigators included checks stolen from residents dating back to December 13, 2021 Muchimba was first employed as a mail carrier on February 16, 2020, and was assigned to the route in question beginning on January 31, 2021.
The investigators believed that Muchimba altered checks from the US Treasury and added his name along with the address before depositing them to bank accounts through mobile apps.
After a search warrant was served on March 29, the law enforcement also recovered receipts for the deposit of more than USD 400,000 into an Olney, Maryland bank account, the filing states.
Prosecutors argue that Muchimba was pinned as a potential account holder after a person noticed that the name signed to an altered check matched holiday cards provided by Muchimba to residents last December.
The filing also depicts the mail carrier at local ATMs, making withdrawals of up to USD 1,000 from the named accounts.
The filing stated, “Surveillance photographs captured the same person withdrawing USD 1,000 on four subsequent dates: September 20, 22, 28 and October 6. In three of the surveillance photographs, the person appears to be wearing US Postal Service clothing typically worn by employees.”
Officials with the US Postal Service Inspector General stated, “our news partners at NBC Washington that an investigation is ongoing,” and a representative for USPS stated that the employee remains on the rolls of the USPS.
