PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A former postal worker from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, stole checks from the mail in South Jersey and sold them to two men, who then resold them on social media, federal prosecutors said, pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars in a check fraud scheme.
Federal prosecutors said 30-year-old Juawan Reed, of Sharon Hill, admitted to stealing checks that passed through a Postal Service facility in Camden.
One of the checks was for nearly $700,000, made out to a business in Pennsauken.
Investigators said it passed from Reed to his co-conspirators, Christopher Hayman, 30, and Tyree Holmes, 34, both of Philadelphia. Hayman then claimed to be the CEO of that business, opened a bank account in its name, deposited the check, and withdrew the money.
Others in the fraud ring also stole from blue mail collection boxes and admitted to altering or counterfeiting checks, writing them for tens of thousands of dollars.
Sentencing is set for the fall. The men could get up to 30 years behind bars.
Two others who pleaded guilty in the case — 28-year-old Kharon Parson-Wright and 29-year-old Yasmene Johnson, both of Marlton — were each sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.
