PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Three men from Philadelphia and Delaware County have been charged with a scheme involving stealing checks from the mail and depositing them in fraudulent bank accounts, a kind of crime that U.S. Postal Service officials say has become worse in the last year.
The federal indictment describes a scheme in which Naod Tsegay, 22 from Collingdale, allegedly altered checks that had been stolen from standard blue mailboxes.
The indictment says he changed the name of the payee and the amounts from nominal sums to thousands of dollars, a process called “check-washing.” The indictment also alleges he deposited the checks into accomplices’ accounts, then attempted to withdraw the money, sometimes succeding.
According to the indictment, Tsegay was found in possession of dozens of checks and money orders and two mailbox keys in a scheme where more than $200,000 was allegedly stolen.
Tsegay and two Philadelphia men, Fode Bangoura, 20, and Zyier Williams, 19, are charged with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, possession of stolen USPS keys, and possession of stolen mail. Tsegay did not initially respond to our requests.
Related
In March, the USPS warned of a nationwide spike in thefts from mailboxes, tied to armed robberies of postal employees to get their keys. The USPS said it’s prioritizing investigations of check washing schemes.
At the time, investigators in Chester County estimated about 90 people were involved in a similar scheme. Officials there said one arrest led to the discovery of $1 million in fraudulent checks.
Jim Melwert contributed to this report.