CHARLOTTE, NC – A postal worker in Charlotte stands accused of stealing a whopping $24 million from the U.S. Postal Service after allegedly collaborating with two others in a check stealing scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said in a press release.
Blaze Media reported that Nakedra Shannon, 29, was accused of stealing both incoming and outgoing checks at a mail processing center in Charlotte over only four months. Shannon was employed as a mail processing clerk at the center between March 2021 and July 2023, the Charlotte Observer said.
Donnell Gardner, 27, and Desiray Carter, 24, are also indicted in the scheme whereby they allegedly posted stolen checks worth $12 million on Telegram, a social media app. Among the checks stolen were $8 million in treasury checks.
The scheme was carried out between April and July of this year. It is believed the three suspects made hundreds of thousands of dollars in the operation, and they are being charged with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
The release said, in part:
“From April to July 2023, Shannon conspired with Gardner and Carter to steal incoming and outgoing checks from the U.S. mail, which Gardner and Carter then sold to other individuals using the Telegram channel OG Glass House. Over the course of the conspiracy, the co-conspirators allegedly stole checks totaling more than $24 million, including more than $12 million in stolen checks which were posted for sale on the Telegram channel OG Glass House and more than $8 million in stolen U.S. Treasury checks.
"The indictment also alleges that the defendants obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal proceeds of the mail theft scheme.”
In addition, the U.S. Attorney's Office said they are charged with theft of government property, a charge that carries a 10-year sentence for each offense.
The three were released on bond after their first court appearance last Friday. The Charlotte Observer asked all three for comment on the charges, however, all refused.
In the release, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King thanked several agencies for their cooperation in the investigation, including the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Department of Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
“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 press release said.
According to NBC News, Carter allegedly ran the Telegram channel under the name SW1PER, where he advertised the checks for sale. Gardner would then send the checks, according to the indictment. The money would be split, half going to Carter and the split the other half between Shannon and Gardner.
According to the release, undercover officers posed as buyers, and Carter directed those buyers to a Bitcoin wallet and CashApp account.
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