The conspiracy lasted 18 months and involved mail carriers to steal credit cards and other financial instruments from the post office to sell them in cash or other items, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the northern district of Illinois said.
Two of the defendants even obtained people’s social security numbers and birth dates, allowing them to activate stolen credit cards and use them in stores, including Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, Walmart and Meijer, prosecutors said.
Three women in Chicago – Rebecca Okunoren, 28, Monique Love, 29, and Dominique Sykes, 28 – are among the former e-mail carriers who have been accused of conspiring to steal mail and commit fraud. unauthorized access devices, prosecutors said. The other two accused e-mail carriers are Jessica Jefferson, 32, of Broadview, and Myiesha Weaver, 34, of College Park, Georgia.
Six more Chicago residents have been charged with conspiracy to steal mail. Are:
Davey Hines, 28;
Billye Harris, 26;
Terrance Stairs, 29;
Stephon Johnson, 33;
Loreal Ross, 31; and
Brittnay Shepard, 28 years old.
Hines, Harris, Johnson and Ross were also charged with fraudulent unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said.
“These arrests are our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to maintain integrity and trust in US correspondence,” said Andre Martin, special officer in charge of the Chicago Great Lakes Office of the U.S. Postal Service. “Most postal employees are forced civil servants, dedicated to moving the post office to the appropriate destination”
Several of the defendants were arrested on Thursday and have already begun appearing in court, prosecutors said.
The federal investigation, called Operation Cash on Delivery, has already led to charges against five other people, including four former USPS employees, last summer.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire – Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2021.)