U.S. postal worker among those indicted in $24 million check scheme

A U.S. postal service employee and two others have been charged over a scheme involving stolen checks worth more than $24 million, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday.

Nakedra Shannon, 29, the postal worker, and Donnel Gardner, 27, and Desiray Carter, 24, all of Charlotte, N.C., have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and five counts of theft of government property.

Carter and Gardner have also been charged with seven counts of possession of stolen mail matter. Shannon has been charged with eight counts of theft of mail by a postal employee, the DOJ said.

“According to allegations in the indictment, from March 2021 to July 2023, Shannon was employed by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as a mail processing clerk at a USPS processing and distribution center in Charlotte,” the release said.

Shannon conspired with Gardner and Carter to steal incoming and outgoing checks from the mail, which they then sold to other individuals using the Telegram channel OG Glass House, the DOJ said.

Carter ran the Telegram channel and Gardner would send the checks, according to the indictment. The money would be split, half going to Carter and the other half split between Shannon and Gardner.

The three allegedly stole checks totaling more than $24 million, including more than $12 million in stolen checks that were posted for sale online and $8 million in checks from the U.S. Treasury. The indictment alleges that they obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal proceeds from the scheme.

They were released on bond after their initial court appearances.

According to the DOJ, the bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Theft by a postal employee and possession of stolen mail carries a penalty of five years in prison and the theft of government property charge carries a sentence of 10 years for each offense.