Three Queens mail carriers arrested in $16 million COVID-19 benefits fraud scheme
One of the carriers began stealing mail on their postal route. This allowed the scheme’s ringleader to file false unemployment benefit claims in the names of hundreds of people. When the Department of Labor sent payouts, the mail carriers simply intercepted the checks along the route.
They left hundreds of pieces of mail in a hotel room by accident, and the next guest called the police.
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In a similar case, US Postal Workers stole and resold thousands of dollars of credit cards along their routes. In New Jersey, a woman helped steal $565K in tax refund checks from the mail.
Stolen checks are often “washed” to change the name on the check so that the thief may make a fraudulent deposit, or cash the check at a check cashing location.
Any form of identity theft or fraud are serious matters, especially when they involve the abuse of a trusted position. Now that the justice department is aware that a number of mail carriers are engaging in this behavior you can expect them to be watching this position with greater scrutiny than ever.
Law enforcement is already on the lookout for potential Covid 19 fraud.
Mail theft is a federal crime.
If you are accused of mail theft you could be facing up to five years in federal prison. Receipt of stolen mail is good for another five years. A great deal of mail theft is internal, coming from postal service employees just like in these two cases.
Conspiracy is also a very serious offense and is often charged alongside other crimes in federal criminal cases.
That means if you are a US Postal Service Employee you could be vulnerable to accusations this holiday season. People are watching out for stolen or missing mail.
Feds Continue To Crack Down on COVID-19 Fraud
Covid-19 hasn’t been around very long, but it’s already become a criminal enterprise worth over $13.4 million.
Most of the scams take place online. Perpetrators sell fake cures and counterfeit PPE, not just to individuals, but to agencies and hospitals as well. They run financial relief schemes and take advantage of remote work vulnerabilities to hack into employee systems.
People who want to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a focus for their fraudulent activities might want to think twice. The DoJ has made a firm commitment to put any cases touching on COVID-19 front and center of their current investigation efforts.
This includes prioritizing:
- Cases where individuals are selling fake cures and faulty health products, especially over the Internet.
- Phishing cases where the phisher impersonates the World Health Organization or the Center for Disease Control. Phishers often do this to gain access to the mark’s personal information.
- Cases where hackers get you to click on a link, to, for example, a COVID-related news story, only to install malware on your device when you do it.
- Cybercrimes where the criminal has attached malware to apps promising to track the spread of the virus.
- Holding businesses accountable under antitrust laws for price gouging or otherwise taking advantage of the outbreak.
Despite widespread efforts by federal courts to limit cases to the most pressing so as to cut down on crowding and slow the spread of the virus you can expect that the DoJ will respond swiftly if you are accused of any of these crimes.
At Koch Law, we are proud to
offer a free initial case consultation
We understand that if you are seeking asylum from New York.
If you’ve been charged with mail theft or conspiracy you’ll need an experienced federal defense attorney. Reach out to Koch Law to schedule a free case review today.
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