Two former U.S. Postal Service employees who worked at the USPS Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center were charged with stealing more than $80 million in U.S. Treasury checks, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday.
According to an indictment, Tauheed Tucker, 23, and Saahir Irby, 27, stole thousands of envelopes containing U.S. Treasury checks while working as USPS mail processing clerks.
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WATCH HERETwo other men, Cory Scott, 25, of Ardmore and Alexander Telewoda, 25, of Clifton Heights were also charged with conspiracy to steal government funds, theft of government funds and mail theft.
The indictment alleges Tucker and Irby sold the stolen checks to Scott and Telewoda, who then advertised the checks for sale on Telegram.
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SIGN UP Once Scott and Telewoda received the payment from interested buyers, they mailed them to the buyers who then tried to cash them without knowing they were stolen, the indictment said.
The face value of the stolen checks totaled more than $80 million, officials said.
Around $11 million worth of the stolen checks were successfully negotiated with banks for payment by Scott and Telewoda's customers, officials said.
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Irby has also been charged for mail theft in a separate incident where U.S. Treasury checks were allegedly stolen, officials said.
All four men charged face up to 20 years in prison due to the scheme, officials said.
