Albany, New York–RICHARD S. HARTUNIAN, United States Attorney, Northern District of New York, announces that seven United States Postal Service employees have plead guilty to making false statements to obtain unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled. These guilty pleas are part of an ongoing national sweep targeting fraud by Postal workers in claiming unemployment benefits. In each case, the defendants lied about their eligibility for benefits by either falsely claiming to be unemployed or under-reporting their income, and fraudulently obtaining benefits ranging from $5,396 to $26,218.

All seven Postal employees entered guilty pleas to one count informations charging them with making false statements to obtain unemployment benefits they were not entitled to in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1919. At the guilty plea and sentencing each defendant was ordered to pay restitution in full for the fraud they committed. The defendants and the fraud amount in each case are as follows:

Erin Gagnon, 37 of Plattsburgh, New York, $26,218;

Clarence Reed, 46 of Schenectady, New York, $11,255;

Nicole Martin, 41 of Brooklyn, New York, $5,396;

Donnel Richardson, 30 of Brooklyn, New York, $9,007;

Kelly Williams, 36 of Nyack, New York, $16,605;

Angela Blazejewski, 35 of Rocky Point, New York, $11,542; and

John Congiusti, 31 of Bronx, New York, $8,896.

“We are always vigilant in enforcing the law, even when the case, sadly, involves public servants. The actions of these defendants undermine America’s trust in others serving the public and impede the system in benefitting those truly in need,” said United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. “Unemployment benefits are meant to provide crucial financial assistance to workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to stop fraudulent schemes such as these which ultimately hurt the American taxpayers.”

“Today’s guilty pleas highlight the importance of this multi-agency investigation to identify fraud in benefit programs such as the U.S. Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who seek to obtain benefits to which they are not entitled,” stated Robert Panella, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.

“These pleas come as a result of the excellent investigative collaboration between the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the New York State Department of Labor- Office of Special Investigations and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector in General”, said Rafael A. Medina, Special Agent in Charge of the USPSOIG’s Northeast Area Field Office.

“The Postal Service prides itself in its dedicated and professional employees, but the small percentage who stray away from those professional standards should know that law enforcement, at all levels, will always work closely to combat fraud against any federal or state program.”

“Unemployment Insurance fraud – especially when it’s committed by government employees who should be serving taxpayers, not stealing from them – is something we at the Department of Labor have a zero tolerance policy on,” said State Labor Commissioner Peter M. Rivera. “Our Major Case Unit at the Labor Department continues to uncover these acts of deception on a daily basis and I am proud of the work we have done together with the U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York to bring these individuals to justice.”

This prosecution resulted from a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, New York State Department of Labor, Office of Special Investigations, and US Department of Labor OIG, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney, Geoffrey J. L. Brown.

The United States Attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas has announced the indictment of Kady Vail, a former relief postmaster in Roe, AR, on embezzlement charges. The alleged crimes took place from February to June of 2012. Vail is accused of converting USPS money orders for her own use, and making false accounting entries.

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A suspect armed with a BB gun fired at a U.S. Postal Service truck in Mission Valley, San Diego Friday afternoon, police confirmed.

The incident happened around 3:15 p.m. in the 1900 block of Camino De La Reina.

A U.S. postal worker was at a mailbox when one of the windows of his vehicle was shot out according to officials.

Read more: Man Arrested for Firing on Postal Worker with BB Gun | NBC Bay Area.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Darlene M. Altvater, age 48, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, late yesterday to five months in prison, followed by five months home detention and three years of supervised release, for two counts of making false statements to obtain federal disability benefits. Chief Judge Chasanow also ordered Altvater to pay restitution, with the exact amount still to be determined. Read the rest of this entry »

MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment unsealed late yesterday charges a former employee of the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) with embezzling approximately $10,365.57 from the Brooklyn Park Post Office. The indictment, which was filed on March 12, 2013, charges Kathleen M. Warner, age 52, of Otsego, with one count of misappropriation of postal funds. The indictment was unsealed following Warner’s initial appearance in federal court.

The indictment alleges that from approximately February 2010 through August 2012, Warner embezzled funds from her cash drawer and removed stamps and other merchandise without paying for them.

If convicted, Warner faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the USPS-Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda M. Sertich.

Read more: USDOJ: US Attorney’s Office – District of Minnesota.

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA)– The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest for the shooting and armed robbery of a letter carrier in Columbus Thursday afternoon.

It happened on Applewood Drive near Williams Roberts Road.

The shooter is still at large, according to investigators.

Lowndes County authorities say the incident occured at Providence Place housing complex at a mail drop-off area just inside the complex gate.

Read more: Mail carrier shot in Columbus – WTVA.com.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Jennifer M. Soltis of Smock, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of misappropriation of postal funds and theft of mail by a postal officer and employee, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The two-count indictment named Soltis, 38, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, from Oct. 8, 2012 to January 9, 2013, Soltis, while employed as the Acting Officer in Charge with the United States Postal Service at the Smock, Pa., post office, converted to her own use postal money orders, stamps and cash having a total value of $5,729.65. The indictment also charges that on or about Dec. 9, 2012, Soltis embezzled a Walmart gift card from an item of mail.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

The United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Department of Justice announced today that the government has joined a civil lawsuit alleging that Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and Tailwind Sports LLC and Tailwind Sports Corporation (Tailwind) submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in connection with its sponsorship of a professional bicycle racing team by regularly employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance, in violation of the USPS sponsorship agreements.

From 1996 through 2004, the USPS sponsored a professional cycling team owned by Tailwind and its predecessors. Lance Armstrong was the lead rider on the team, and between 1999 and 2004, he won six consecutive Tour de France titles as a member of the USPS-sponsored team. Johan Bruyneel was the directeur sportif, or manager, of the cycling team.

The sponsorship agreements gave the USPS certain promotional rights, including the right to prominent placement of the USPS logo on the cycling team’s uniform. Each of the agreements required the team to follow the rules of cycling’s governing bodies, which prohibited the use of certain performance enhancing substances and methods. Between 2001 and 2004 alone, the Postal Service paid $31 million in sponsorship fees.

The lawsuit joined today by the government alleges that riders on the USPS-sponsored team, including Armstrong, knowingly caused the USPS agreements to be violated by regularly employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance. The lawsuit further alleges that Bruyneel knew that team members were using performance enhancing substances and facilitated the practice. Read the rest of this entry »

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Gene Quarles, 47, of Spotsylvania, Va., pleaded guilty late yesterday to receiving thousands of dollars in bribes to use his position as a purchasing specialist for the United States Postal Service to obtain and facilitate contracts for a Maryland-based information technology firm. Read the rest of this entry »

On Tuesday federal agents raided the offices of Beam Brothers Trucking in Mount Crawford, VA. The company provides mail transportation for the US Postal Service, and according to its web site, currently has “67 contracts from six different areas”.

The Harrisonburg Daily News-Record reports that federal agencies involved wouldn’t comment on the cause for the raid, and neither would the company. But an affadavit filed to support the search warrant request indicates that the company has been accused of falsifying driver records.

According to the trucking industry magazine LandLine:

The affidavit says federal investigators have testimony from nine witnesses who worked for the company. One witness reportedly saw an argument between the company’s safety director and two supervisors in which the safety director brought up concerns over hours-of-service violations and “relevant U.S. DOT regulations,” court documents state.

The alleged response from supervisors: “We don’t give a $#@*.”

Another witness showed investigators multiple trip routes requiring drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit if driven in one trip. The longest such route – Knoxville, TN, to Hooks, TX, to Dallas, TX – exceeded the 11-hour limit by 20 hours. The employee was later told “the illegal routes will not be fixed because they make the company too much money,” the affidavit reads.